National Minimum Wage offenders named and shamed
Today (30 July 2015) Business Minister Nick Boles has named 75 employers who have failed to pay their workers the National Minimum Wage.
Between them, the named companies owed workers over £153,000 in arrears, and span sectors including hairdressing, fashion, publishing, hospitality, health and fitness, automotive, social care, and retail.
This brings the total number of companies named and shamed under the scheme, which was introduced in October 2013, to 285 employers, with total arrears of over £788,000 and total penalties of over £325,000.
Business Minister Nick Boles said:
As a one nation government on the side of working people we are determined that everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum Wage receives it. When the new National Living Wage is introduced next April (2016) we will enforce robustly. This means that the hard-working people of the UK will get the pay rise they deserve.
From October 2015 the National Minimum Wage (NMW) will increase to £6.70. Employers should be well aware of the different rates for the National Minimum Wage depending on the circumstances of their workers. Employers and workers can call the Acas helpline or visit www.gov.uk if they need information about the NMW.
To improve compliance in the hairdressing sector HMRC has launched a NMW campaign to drive voluntary behavioural change. The campaign is an opportunity for employers to check they are paying their employees correctly and ensure any outstanding arrears are paid back to employees.
The 75 employers named today are:
- Lime Tree Holiday Park Ltd, Buxton, neglected to pay £12,774.88 to 2 workers
- Mytton and Mermaid Ltd, Shrewsbury, neglected to pay £9,252.68 to 9 workers
- Individual Specialist Cars Ltd, Birmingham, neglected to pay £9,067.12 to 1 worker
- David Lord, Lancaster, neglected to pay £7,554.55 to 1 worker
- Bibas Hair & Beauty Ltd, London, neglected to pay £7,204.79 to 2 workers
- Rolfe East (Letting and Management) Ltd, London, neglected to pay £7,107.43 to 20 workers
- Choi Yiu Joe Ng t/a Hush Hair and Beauty, Birmingham, neglected to pay £6,783.78 to 2 workers
- Clinton and Elaine Dailly t/a Clinton Dailly Hair Design, Dundee, neglected to pay £6,128.73 to 2 workers
- Shapes Hair Ltd, Newport, neglected to pay £5,771.54 to 1 worker
- Simply Hair & Beauty Ltd, Troon, neglected to pay £5,235.14 to 1 worker
- The 9th Duke of Rutland Will Trust, Belvoir Estate Trust, t/a Belvoir Castle, Grantham, neglected to pay £4,070.25 to 57 workers
- The Vinyl Corporation Ltd t/a Decalcraft Signs, Nottingham, neglected to pay £3,892.07 to 3 workers
- KAE Marketing Intelligence Ltd, London, neglected to pay £3,757.64 to 5 workers
- Ally Bally Bee Childcare Ltd, Blantyre, neglected to pay £3,537.06 to 2 workers
- 3McC Ltd, Glasgow, neglected to pay £3,435.08 to 1 worker
- Alan Matthews t/a Cutz Both Wayz, Waltham Abbey, neglected to pay £3,049.31 to 2 workers
- Philip A Warren t/a Cherry Tree Autos, Treharris, neglected to pay £3,006.63 to 1 worker
- Craymere Ltd t/a Topknot Hair & Beauty, Nottingham, neglected to pay £2,486.19 to 2 workers
- Brady Insurance Services Ltd, Enniskillen, neglected to pay £2,482.81 to 1 worker
- JRM Motor Engineers Ltd, Hartlepool, neglected to pay £2,412.83 to 2 workers
- Crayford & Abbs Ltd, Holt, neglected to pay £2,317.33 to 1 worker
- Holly Spring Ltd t/a Spring Lodge Residential Home, Worthing, neglected to pay £2,274.66 to 22 workers
- The Ultimate Dental Laboratory Ltd, Liverpool, neglected to pay £2,156.95 to 4 workers
- More Than Conquerors Limited t/a Abba Nursery, Bolton, neglected to pay £2,015.08 to 6 workers
- Quantum Pursuits (UK) Ltd t/a Veqtor, Brook, neglected to pay £1,808.62 to 1 worker
- Carboclass Ltd t/a Lords Builders Merchants, London, neglected to pay £1,762.27 to 2 workers
- Vivienne O’Connor t/a MD’s Hair and Beauty Studio, Colwyn Bay, neglected to pay £1,752.96 to 1 worker
- Rage Motorsport Ltd, Luton, neglected to pay £1,622.41 to 1 worker
- WY (Rookery Hall) Ltd t/a Rookery Hall Hotel & Spa, Nantwich, neglected to pay £1,588.56 to 1 worker
- Susan Isaacs Nursery School on behalf of Bolton Council, Bolton, neglected to pay £1,587.38 to 3 workers
- OM (Services) Ltd t/a OM Hair Salon, Taunton, neglected to pay £1,568.89 to 3 workers
- Ashwood Taverns Ltd t/a Craven Heifer, Darwen, neglected to pay £1,419.99 to 1 worker
- Julie Shields t/a The Beauty Tree, Castleford, neglected to pay £1,391.65 to 1 worker
- Pro-Force Ltd, Canterbury, neglected to pay £1,280.99 to 25 workers
- Our Aim Appeals, Birmingham, neglected to pay £1,278.60 to 1 worker
- Ebony Joiners Ltd, Reddingmuirhead, neglected to pay £1,169.10 to 1 worker
- Denton & Nickels Ltd, Doncaster, neglected to pay £1,162.30 to 3 workers
- Medina Chemists Ltd, Nottingham, neglected to pay £1,123.23 to 1 worker
- Versatile Mobiles t/a Elite Contact Ltd, Manchester, neglected to pay £985.77 to 4 workers
- Linda Glennon t/a Hair Matters, Wrexham, neglected to pay £807.58 to 2 workers
- Acorn Care Services Ltd, Sandown, neglected to pay £784.38 to 8 workers
- Darron Tool & Engineering (Sheffield) Ltd, Rotherham, neglected to pay £749.44 to 1 worker
- Diamond Cabs Ltd, Gainsborough, neglected to pay £722.87 to 1 worker
- Activkids South East Ltd, London, neglected to pay £719.62 to 1 worker
- The Blindz Store Ltd, Bury, neglected to pay £703.71 to 2 workers
- Paramount Security Services PS Ltd, Nottingham, neglected to pay £694.10 to 1 worker
- Vape (Worksop) Ltd, Worksop, neglected to pay £692.55 to 1 worker
- Patricia Mayhew t/a The Stitch Academy, Taunton, neglected to pay £645.28 to 1 worker
- The Garden Sandwich Bar Ltd, London, neglected to pay £600.41 to 1 worker
- Energy & Compliance Technology Ltd t/a Compliance 365, Wakefield, neglected to pay £595.36 to 2 workers
- Paul Nyman Ltd, Wakefield, neglected to pay £531.04 to 1 worker
- Moon & Benney Ltd t/a Group Travel Bodmin, neglected to pay £523.34 to 1 worker
- Spice Venue Dudley Ltd t/a The Venue, Birmingham, neglected to pay £465.71 to 1 worker
- Worldflair Ltd t/a Krazy Kingdom, Blackpool, neglected to pay £443.07 to 6 workers
- Jonathan Law t/a Saks, Edinburgh, neglected to pay £413.13 to 1 worker
- Chi Wah Ken Cheung t/a Golden Oryza, Bournemouth, neglected to pay £410.48 to 1 worker
- Fernandez Enterprises Ltd t/a Gourmet Coffee, Liverpool, neglected to pay £367.20 to 1 worker
- J Frederick, B Frederick & P C Frederick t/a as Fredericks of Chesterfield, Chesterfield, neglected to pay £348.38 to 1 worker
- On Your Bike (Recycle) Ltd, Taunton, neglected to pay £317.61 to 1 worker
- R Thomson (Electrical Contractors) Ltd, Warrington, neglected to pay £302.11 to 1 worker
- Zaheer Azam & Rehana Azam t/a Ziggy’s Schoolwear, Oldham, neglected to pay £291.07 to 1 worker
- Cleantec Ltd, Watford, neglected to pay £284.30 to 43 workers
- Clare Robinson t/a Jeselle, Doncaster, neglected to pay £268.03 to 1 worker
- Dhanjaye Damhar, Dhanjaye Ravi Damhar, Nisha Damhar t/a Beechey House Care Home (ceased trading), Bournemouth, neglected to pay £251.87 to 1 worker
- Amaretto (Ashington) Ltd, Ashington, neglected to pay £251.52 to 1 worker
- Airwaves Design Ltd, Altrincham, neglected to pay £250.98 to 1 worker
- Phil Pickford t/a Surecare (Bristol), Bristol, neglected to pay £236.60 to 1 worker
- Lift Source (UK) Ltd, Rugeley, neglected to pay £160.92 to 1 worker
- Rayman and Thomas Ltd, London, neglected to pay £149.50 to 1 worker
- Amore (Scotland) Ltd, Aberdeen, neglected to pay £126.30 to 2 workers
- Bomoco Ltd t/a Romford Mazda, Romford, neglected to pay £126.13 to 1 worker
- Alistair Donaldson t/a Donaldson Plastering, Swansea, neglected to pay £123.79 to 1 worker
- Waterman Infrastructure and Environment Ltd, London, neglected to pay £114.01 to 1 worker
- Obsession Salon & Spas Ltd, Lichfield, neglected to pay £113.20 to 1 worker
- Joomla Balti House Ltd, Market Rasen, neglected to pay £101.97 to 1 worker
The 75 cases named today (30 July 2015) were thoroughly investigated by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
The naming and shaming scheme was revised in October 2013 to make it simpler to name and shame employers that do not comply with minimum wage rules.
Businesses or employees that have any questions about the National Minimum wage can call Acas on 0300 123 1100 or visit www.gov.uk
Notes to editors
1.Employers have a duty to be aware of the different legal rates for the National Minimum Wage.
The current National Minimum Wage rates are:
- adult rate (21 and over) - £6.50 per hour
- 18 to 20-year olds - £5.13 per hour
- 16 to 17-year olds - £3.79 per hour
- apprentice rate - £2.73 per hour
The apprentice rate applies to apprentices aged 16 to 18 years and those aged 19 years and over who are in their first year. All other apprentices are entitled to the National Minimum Wage rate for their age.
2.The government is committed to increasing compliance with minimum wage legislation and effective enforcement of it. Everyone who is entitled to the minimum wage should receive it. The BIS scheme to name employers who break minimum wage law came into effect on 1 January 2011. The scheme is one of a range of tools at the government’s disposal to tackle this issue. Employers who pay workers less than the minimum wage not only have to pay back arrears of wages at current minimum wage rates but also face financial penalties of up to £20,000. In the most serious cases employers can be prosecuted.
3.From 1 October 2013 the government revised the naming scheme to make it simpler to name and shame employers who break the law. Under this scheme the government will name all employers that have been issued with a Notice of Underpayment (NoU) unless employers meet one of the exceptional criteria or have arrears of £100 or less. All 75 cases named today failed to pay the national minimum wage and have arrears of over £100.
4.Employers have 28 days to appeal to HMRC against the NoU (this notice sets out the owed wages to be paid by the employer together with the penalty for not complying with minimum wage law). If the employer does not appeal or unsuccessfully appeals against this NoU, BIS will consider them for naming. The employer then has 14 days to make representations to BIS outlining whether they meet any of the exceptional criteria:
- naming by BIS carries a risk of personal harm to an individual or their family
- there are national security risks associated with naming in this instance
- other factors which suggest that it would not be in the public interest to name the employer (employer to provide details)
If BIS does not receive any representations or the representations received are unsuccessful, the employer will be named via a BIS press release under this scheme.
5.Further information about the revised BIS NMW naming scheme can be found at National minimum wage law: enforcement