Could you be breaching minimum wage legislation too?

On 5 August 2021, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) published a list of 191 employers who had breached national minimum wage legislation by underpaying their staff. Collectively, the employers failed to pay £2.1 million to over 34,000 workers between 2011 and 2018. The largest underpayment was by John Lewis, which failed to pay £941,355.67 to 19,392 workers. Several other household names also appeared in the list, including The Body Shop, Pret A Manger and several football clubs. BEIS has confirmed that the employers on the list have since paid back what they owed and were fined £3.2 million.

In a press release containing the list, BEIS states that not all underpayments are intentional, but reminds employers that they have a responsibility to abide by the law. The reasons for underpayment by employers in this list included incorrect deductions (including for uniforms and expenses), failing to pay workers for time worked (including overtime), and paying the incorrect apprenticeship rate.

UHY Group operates the payrolls of thousands of businesses in the UK. If you are unsure about what is or is not counted towards pay then UHY Ross Brooke can help you make sure your payroll is being run correctly and that your staff are not being underpaid, giving you the peace of mind that you are meeting your legal obligations.

Next steps

For further information and a quote for our services, please contact us now.

Read the full BEIS article