Low pay companies are 'named and shamed'

Scores of companies are being "named and shamed" by the Government for failing to pay workers the minimum wage.

Ministers said 139 companies – from those with just one employee, to supermarket giant Tesco – have been fined for short-changed their employees.

Offending firms failed to pay £6.7m to their workers, in a "completely unacceptable breach of employment law", said the Business Department.

Tesco said it was "disappointed and surprised" to have been named as it had identified a technical issue in 2017 that meant some workers' pay "inadvertently" fell below the national minimum wage, and that all had been reimbursed.

Ministers said the list of companies published by the Government should be a wake up call to "rogue" bosses.

The list includes hotels, garages, a hairdresser, nail salon, car wash and shops found to have underpaid a single employee to thousands of staff.

The 139 named companies were investigated between 2016 and 2018 and the probes involved over 95,000 workers.

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.

"This should serve as a wake-up call to named employers and a reminder to everyone of the importance of paying workers what they are legally entitled to.

"Make no mistake, those who fail to follow minimum wage rules will be caught out and made to pay up."