Club disappointed at minimum wage list
St Johnstone FC has said it is “extremely disappointed” to be criticised for failing to meet minimum wage requirements.
The Perth club was last week included in a UK Government “named and shamed” list.
Saints is said to have failed to pay £14,266.74 to 28 workers, which included 25 apprentice footballers.
A total of 139 companies were named by the government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
The companies were served a notice of underpayment between September 2016 and July 2018, following investigations by HMRC.
Business minister Paul Scully said the list should serve as a “wake-up call”.
St Johnstone released a statement on Thursday morning and explained that arrangements had been made for former employees to be paid the relevant amounts.
In full, it read: “The club wishes to advise its supporters that in 2017 it enabled HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to conclude what was a very lengthy scrutiny of its working practices in relation to the national minimum wage.
“HMRC looked at employees across the full spectrum of the club’s activities from the professional football operation and match day staffing to the club’s weekday operations which covered matters such as catering and conferencing.
“The outcome of this historic HMRC investigation was that they identified arrears amounting to £14,246 which was due to 28 different employees from the previous five years to 2017.
“As required, the club then made arrangements for these former employees to be paid the relevant amounts. Twenty-five of the 28 employees were apprentice footballers with the club.
“Due to the absence of written evidence to support our position in relation to hours worked as opposed to the actual rate of pay, the club was unable to disprove HMRC’s estimate of the average hours worked per week by these employees.
“The hours of work undertaken by our apprentices was fully reviewed and changes were implemented immediately following HMRC’s outcome.
“The perceived failure to pay three other employees the national minimum wage related to voluntary deductions from pay by these employees.
“The club prides itself in treating our staff fairly and we are extremely disappointed to find ourselves in a position whereby we are criticised for failing to meet national minimum wage requirements.”
Business minister Paul Scully said: “Paying the minimum wage is not optional, it is the law. It is never acceptable for any employer to shortchange their workers, but it is especially disappointing to see huge household names who absolutely should know better on this list.”