Government names and shames 360 firms for underpaying workers

Retail giant Debenhams (Frankfurt: D2T.F - news) has topped a list of 360 businesses named and shamed by the Government for underpaying workers.

Employers in hairdressing, retail, hospitality and the care home sector appear on the largest such list ever released.

In total, more than 15,000 workers lost out on more than £995,000.

Excuses for paying less than the national minimum or living wage included using tips to top up pay, docking wages to pay for Christmas parties and making staff pay for their own uniforms.

Debenhams made the list, released by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), for failing to pay almost £135,000 to just under 12,000 workers.

The company said it made a technical error in its payroll calculations, which resulted in an average underpayment of around £10 per person to affected workers in 2015.

It was fined £63,000 by BEIS for the breach.

Several Subway franchises were also called out, as were other familiar names including Lloyds Pharmacy and St Mirren Football Club.

The biggest payout to a single worker was £11,799, awarded to an employee of a dental practice in London's Harley Street.

BEIS said its investigations into the named companies had seen more than 15,000 workers receive back pay, as well as penalties totalling £800,000 being issued to the firms by HM Revenue and Customs.

The latest announcement means that more than 1,000 employers have been identified since the policy started in 2013.

The new list included 84 employers in the hospitality industry, 51 in retail, 39 hairdressers and 24 in social care.

Business minister Margot James said: "Every worker in the UK is entitled to at least the national minimum or living wage and this government will ensure they get it."

TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "This should be a wake-up call for employers who value their reputation.

"If you cheat your staff out of the minimum wage you will be named and shamed.

"But we also need to see prosecutions and higher fines for the most serious offenders, especially those who deliberately flout the law."