Sherwood Forest and Rushcliffe businesses among companies named and shamed by Government for underpaying staff

A care company and farming business are among the businesses named and shamed by the government for underpaying staff.

Two firms in the Advertiser area were found to have been in breach of the National Minimum Wage law, data released today (May 29) by the Department for Business and Trade reveals.

It follows investigations by HMRC which resulted in businesses facing financial penalties for their underpayment.

A single employee from farming business Futurerate Limited in Rushcliffe received £787.20, after HMRC found it had failed to properly pay them between August 2020 and January 2021.

At the other end of the scale, React Homecare Ltd in Sherwood Forest left 127 workers out of pocket between 2018 and 2021. It was forced to pay £9,907.42, amounting to an average of £78.01 per person.

Across the UK, 518 businesses were found to have failed to pay their workers more than £7.4 million in a breach of the National Minimum Wage law, leaving almost 60,000 people out of pocket.

Among the national chains which have been listed for failing to pay their staff the minimum wage are Pizza Express, which failed to pay £760,702 to 8,479 workers, which equates to about £90 per person on average, and Lidl which owed £286,437 to 3,423 employees.

Capita, one of the Government’s biggest suppliers, was at the top of the list and owed £1.15million to 5,543 workers.

The businesses named today have since paid back what they owe to their staff and faced financial penalties of up to 200% of their underpayment.

Employers wrongly deducting from workers’ wages was the reason for 34% of cases.

Deductions, including reductions in salary, may include food, travel, cost of work equipment, salary sacrifice schemes and the purchase of clothes to meet a dress code.

A further 31% of employers failed to pay workers correctly for their working time and 22% of employers failed to pay the correct rate to apprentices.

Minister for Employment Rights Justin Madders said: “There is no excuse for employers to undercut their workers, and we will continue to name companies who break the law and don’t pay their employees what they are owed.

“Ensuring workers have the support they need and making sure they receive a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work is a key commitment in our Plan for Change.

“This will put more money in working people’s pockets, helping to boost productivity, and ending low pay.”