Easyjet, Greggs, and Estee Lauder are amongst 524 employers who have been named and shamed for failing to pay their employees at least the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage, as we highlighted in a recent post.
The 524 employers listed is an increase on the 202 employers who were named and shamed for failing to pay the correct amount in June 2023.
National Minimum Wage: Named And Shamed
524 employers have been named and shamed by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) for a variety of breaches of their legal obligation to pay their employees at least the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage.
The latest list of those who failed to pay the National Minimum Wage and the National Living Wage includes many very well known employers, including Easyjet, Greggs, Staffline, Estee Lauder, Rank, Harrods, and River Island.
Approximately 172,000 workers were found to have been underpaid almost £16 million by the 524 employers named and shamed, with those employers named facing "financial penalties of up to 200% of their underpayment".
The top 10 of the 524 employers named and shamed on the list of those who failed to pay the National Minimum Wage and the National Living Wage, were as follows:-
- Staffline Recruitment Limited – 36,767 employees were underpaid a total £5,125,270.93
- Rank Group Gaming Division Limited – owed £962,504.92 in back pay to 5,629 workers
- Estee Lauder Cosmetics Limited – 5,933 workers were underpaid a total of £894,980.43
- Pilgrim’s Pride Ltd (Previously Tulip Limited) – £597,299.65 was owed in back pay to 2,698 workers
- Mitchells & Butlers PLC – 16,187 workers were underpaid a total of £565,094.87
- Kane Foods Limited – £562,614.36 was owed as back pay to 1,109 workers
- Tuffnells Parcels Express Limited – 576 workers were underpaid a total £340,784.57
- Easyjet Airline Company Limited – £338,876.46 was owed in back pay to 3,898 workers
- G.R. & M.M. Blackledge Plc – 1,541 workers were underpaid a total of £324,742.87
- Elis UK Limited (Previously Berendsen UK Limited) – £257,265.44 was owed in back pay to 1,801 workers
In terms of those employers in the top 10, Tuffnells Parcels Express Limited went into administration on the 12th June 2023.
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) published a separate educational bulletin setting out the main reasons as to how employers came to breach their obligations to pay the National Minimum Wage and the National Living Wage. The top 5 main reasons were:-
- Pay deductions that took workers below the National Minimum Wage / National Living Wage rate (e.g. uniforms, training expenses, PPE, etc) - 34.92%
- Unremunerated working time - 30.53%
- Apprentices not paid the correct rate - 15.65%
- Failing to pay the increased rate for the National Minimum Wage / National Living Wage - 10.5%
- Failing to properly implement the accommodation offset - 6.49%
Reaction
A representative for Greggs stated: "During a review with HMRC, it was brought to our attention that our uniform policy for retail colleagues was not aligned with HMRC's interpretation of national minimum wage regulations, and as a result, we revised our uniform policy in January 2018. Once the review was concluded, we reimbursed colleagues and former colleagues who had been impacted by this unintended error."
Meanwhile, an Easyjet representative stated: "This was a genuine error which we immediately rectified and issued back payments to all affected crew. While all crew in this period (2014-2019) were paid in line with the NMW for their total annual salary, this review in 2018 identified a specific issue affecting our new entrant cabin crew only during their initial three week training course, as some payments only apply once crew are flying. easyJet is committed to treating its people fairly, paying competitively and complying with market practices."
Commenting upon the new named and shamed list, the 20th to be published to date, Minister for Enterprise, Markets and Small Business, Kevin Hollinrake, said: "Employees deserve to get paid properly for the hard work they put in. While the majority of businesses already do the right thing and pay their staff what they are owed, today’s announcement sends a message to the minority who aren’t - that there are repercussions to undercutting hard work from their staff."
“
