Rogue wage bosses named and shamed

Almost 40 employers owing workers £177,000 in arrears for not paying the national minimum wage have been "named and shamed" by the Government.

The 37 offenders include a childcare centre in Wolverhampton, a tanning boutique in Glasgow, a building firm in Edinburgh and a cleaning company in Worksop.

They face financial penalties totalling more than £51,000.

Business Minister Jo Swinson said: "Paying less than the minimum wage is illegal, immoral and completely unacceptable. If employers break this law they need to know that we will take tough action by naming, shaming and fining them as well as helping workers recover the hundreds of thousands of pounds in pay owed to them.

"We are also looking at what more we can do to make sure workers are paid fairly in the first place. As well as being publicly named and shamed, employers that fail to pay their workers the national minimum wage face penalties of up to £20,000.

"We are legislating through the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill so that this penalty can be applied to each underpaid worker rather than per employer."

Almost 100 employers have now been publicly named by the Government since a new regime came into force in October 2013.

Unions have been pressing for larger fines against firms found to be paying less than the statutory rate of £6.50 an hour for adults, £5.13 for 18 to 20-year-olds, £3.79 for 16 and 17-year-olds and £2.73 for apprentices.

TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "It's good to see the Government getting tough on bad bosses who cheat hard-working employees out of the pay they're legally entitled to. But with over 600 employers being caught underpaying each year, those named and shamed today are only the tip of the iceberg.

"There are companies out there that cheat hundreds of staff out of a legal minimum wage - these are the biggest offenders and their pay crimes must be made public too. Ministers must also step up enforcement action with more prosecutions, higher fines and a bigger team of enforcement officers to catch the cheats."

The TUC recently published a 10 point plan for minimum wage enforcement, including a call for much higher fines.

The 37 employers are:

• Kings Group LLP, Hertfordshire, neglected to pay £53,808.91 to 53 workers

• Kings Group Lettings LLP, Hertfordshire, neglected to pay £26,893.43 to 49 workers

• Chi Yip Group Ltd, Middleton, neglected to pay £15,566.78 to 13 workers

• Kingsclere Nurseries Ltd trading as Abacus Day Nursery, Newbury, neglected to pay £12,904.19 to 8 workers.

• Ms Thap Thi Ly trading as Sweet N Sour, Fleetwood, neglected to pay £11,039.14 to 2 workers

• Michael Kearney trading as Electrical Estimates, Ceredigion, neglected to pay £5,557.91 to 4 workers

• ABC Early Learning and Childcare Centre UK Ltd, Wolverhampton, neglected to pay £5,329.25 to 68 workers

• C J Hartley Ltd trading as Headwork, Sheffield, neglected to pay £4,762.64 to 4 workers

• Mrs Kelly Jayne Lockley trading as Diva Hair Design, Walsall, neglected to pay £4,103.65 to a worker

• Browncow Tanning Ltd trading as Fake Bake Hair & Beauty Boutique, Glasgow, neglected to pay £3,406.66 to 2 workers

• J Wood Joiners & Builders Ltd, Edinburgh, neglected to pay £3,373.19 to 4 workers

• Louise Ross Trading as Luxe Salon, Leeds, neglected to pay £3,368.13 to a worker

• H&M Hennes & Mauritz UK Ltd, London, neglected to pay £2,604.87 to 540 workers

• Building Projects Ltd, Dundee, neglected to pay £2,345.85 to 3 workers

• David A Farrer Ltd, Morecambe, neglected to pay £2,261.00 to a worker

• Julian's Hair Salon Ltd, Newbury, neglected to pay £2,131.35 to a worker

• Motorists Discount Store Ltd trading as TMS Autoparts, Manchester, neglected to pay £2,025.19 to a worker

• Ms Dawn Platts trading as Level 2 Hair Studio, Barnsley, neglected to pay £1,186.89 to a worker

• Myers and Family Ltd, Wakefield, neglected to pay £1.598.82 to a worker

• Welcome Break Holdings Ltd, Newport Pagnell, neglected to pay £1,318.70 to 19 workers

• Callum Austin Ltd trading as Jason Austin Hairdressers, Kettering, neglected to pay £1,899.66 to 2 workers

• Mrs Karen Riley Trading as Crave, Preston, neglected to pay £1,179.09 to 7 workers

• RPM Performance Rally World Ltd, Maldon, neglected to pay £998.71 to a worker

• Ego Hair & Beauty (Anglia) Ltd, Colchester, neglected to pay £985.55 to a worker

• Mr Jinit Shah trading as Crystal Financial Solutions, Middlesex, neglected to pay £941.65 to a worker

• Counted4 Community Interest Company, Sunderland, neglected to pay £930.73 to a worker

• HAE Automotive Services Ltd, Harrogate (ceased trading), neglected to pay £798.16 to a worker

• Vision on Digital Ltd, Ossett, neglected to pay £683.86 to a worker

• Ultimate Care UK Ltd, Ipswich, neglected to pay £613.79 to 7 workers

• Century Motors (Sheffield) Ltd, Sheffield, neglected to pay £571.72 to a worker

• Mr D Eastwell & Mr G Brinkler trading as The Salon, Letchworth Garden City, neglected to pay £409.85 to a worker

• Rumble (Bedworth) Ltd, Nuneaton, neglected to pay £404.41 to a worker

• Shannons Ltd, Worthing neglected to pay £313.76 to a worker

• Holmes Cleaning Company, Worksop neglected to pay £240.48 to a worker

• Learnplay Foundation Ltd, West Bromwich, neglected to pay £224.73 to a worker

• Adrien Mackenzie trading as Maverick Models, Manchester, neglected to pay £205.52 to a worker

• QW Security Ltd, Hartlepool, neglected to pay £126.20 to a worker

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