Firms named and shamed for paying under minimum wage

●Companies told to stump up £35k ●90 workers to share in £2m back pay

Nineteen Scottish firms have been “named and shamed” for failing to pay the minimum wage and ordered to pay more than £35,000 to workers who found themselves shortchanged.

A total of 90 staff across Scotland are to receive a chunk of the £2 million back pay across the UK being given out to those who were underpaid.

Shops, a motor mechanics firm and hairdressing businesses are among the offenders in Scotland, it has been revealed.

Scotland Office Minister Lord Duncan said: “Life is tough enough for folks today without employers trying to diddle their workers out of their entitlement.

“The UK government’s national living wage was established to ensure that everyone, everywhere, receives a decent income. To hear

that there are still companies that believe they can get away with underpaying their staff is unacceptable. If it takes naming and shaming to ensure that employers wake up to their responsibilities then the UK government will not shirk from that task. Workers need to know that we have their back on this one.”

The Fish and Chip Ship Ltd in West Dunbartonshire faces the highest Scottish bill in the UK government scheme to crack down on offenders.

Officials said the firm failed to pay £4,900 to nine workers.

DSL Accident Repair Ltd, based in Edinburgh, is next on the list with £4,896 owed to three workers, while the Rainbow Room (Clarkston) Ltd, which has since changed names, failed to pay £4,532 to 21 workers.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “We are using all powers at our disposal to promote fair pay. We are doing this through our approach to fair working practices in procurement, our support for living wage accreditation, the business pledge and the Fair Work Convention. “We would encourage employers across Scotland to ensure that they are paying staff the legal minimum wage rate.”

Since the scheme was introduced in 2013, 40,000 workers have received back pay totalling more than £6m, with 1,200 employers fined £4m.

Current national minimum wage rates range from £7.50 an hour for those aged 25 and over to an apprentice rate of £3.50 an hour.

Across the UK, workers at 233 businesses will receive back pay in the latest round of payments totalling around £2m, while employers have been fined £1.9m in total by the UK government.

A spokeswoman for Citizens Advice Scotland said the figures highlight the problem that still exists with rogue employers.

She added: “CAB advisers see so many people now who are in work, and are struggling because ofl ow wages or unfair employment practices which can place them in extremely difficult situations.”

Reasons given by employers for underpaying workers included deducting money from pay packets to pay for uniforms, not paying workers for overtime hours, and paying apprenticeship rates to workers.

Shadow Scotland Office Minister Paul Sweeney said: “Any trader or business found not to be paying the minimum wage should face the full force of the law.”

Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said it was right to throw the spotlight on firms responsible.

“It is completely unacceptable for firms to think that they can get away with underpaying their staff,” he said.

Nearly 20 years on from the introduction of the minimum wage, businesses continue to flout the legislation.

Figures published today show 19 employers in Scotland failed to pay workers a total of £35,000.

Not only have they been ordered to make amends, but they have now been named and shamed.

Across the UK, workers at 233 businesses will receive back pay in the latest round of payments totalling around £2 million, while employers have been fined £1.9m in total by the UK government.

Since the scheme was introduced in 2013, 40,000 workers have received back pay totalling more than £6m, with 1,200 employers fined £4m.

Reasons given for failing to pay include deducting money from pay packets to pay for uniforms, not paying workers for overtime hours and paying apprenticeship rates to workers.

Despite dire warnings ahead of its introduction that the minimum wage would sink the British economy, it has been shown to be a progressive idea which has improved the lot of those in low-paid work.

The current rate for those over the age of 25 is £7.50 an hour, almost a pound less than the £8.45 “living wage” – an independently calculated sum based on what employees and their families need to live.

The statutory figure is not an onerous sum, even for the smallest of businesses.

It is often these sorts of businesses which rely on their staff the most and it is a price they should be willing to pay for a happy and committed workforce.

Separate figures published yesterday show Scotland’s employment rate hit a record high in the three months to June, with 2,650,000, people in work.

While those statistics are to be welcomed, the reality is that many jobs are now short-term and poorly paid. People in these positions often do not have the same rights as those in permanent positions.

That is why the minimum wage is so important and why it is right to expose those who refuse to pay it.

Among the Scottish firms named today are a chip shop, a hairdresser and a mechanic.

These companies do not turn over millions and their profits pale into insignificance against the corporate giants. But they are the lifeblood of the Scottish economy and the treatment of their staff should concern us all.