Owners of hotel owed workers £17k
A company which runs a plush country hotel failed to pay workers more than £17,000 which they were owed.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) today named 260 employers nationwide for failing to pay 16,000 workers at least minimum wage rates.
Government investigators identified £1.7million in back pay for some of the country’s lowest paid workers and fined employers £1.3million for underpayment.
Retail, hairdressing and hospitality businesses were among the most prolific offenders in this round.
Common reasons for errors made include: failing to pay workers travelling between jobs, deducting money from pay for uniforms and not paying for overtime.
Ramside Estates Limdoes ited, which runs Ramside Hall Hotel on the outskirts of Durham City, is one of the businesses named after it failed to pay a total of £17,536.59 to eight workers.
Bosses at Ramside Estates said that the issue related to a problem with a clocking in machine.
John Adamson, from the company, said: “Ramside Estates has been in business for 54 years and is one of the longest standing hospitality businesses in the North East.
“We have always paid our staff the minimum wage and above and unfortunately this particular situation arose because of an issue with the clocking in machine, where chefswhowereonsplitshifts – with a four-hour break in the middle of the day – appeared as if they were working through for 12 hours.
“Because of that it seemed as if their hourly rate was below the minimum wage, which in reality was not the case.
“We pointed this out to the inspectors but they did not accept our explanation.
“To ensure this situation not arise again, our contracts of employment now allow people who work more than a 48-hour week to be reimbursed, although this is challenging for the hospitality industry, where long hours have always been the norm.
“It does seem that the hospitality industry is being particularly targeted and that we are being made a scapegoat in this instance.”
Other firms highlighted include Sports Direct, run by Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, which failed to pay £167,036.24 to 383 workers and fashion retailer Primark, which owed £231,973.12 to 9,735 workers.
Two Sunderland care companies, Blue Ribbon Community Care and Bluebird Care, were also mentioned on the list.