Centrica, Euro Garages and Holland and Barrett have been named as some of the employers on the government’s list of employers underpaying staff.
The Department for Business and Trade said that almost 500 employers have been fined over £10 million for failing to pay the national minimum wage.
However, it clarified that around 42,000 workers had been repaid by businesses, and a number of employers on the list have pointed out that unintentional payroll errors have since been rectified and staff reimbursed.
Euro Garages, known as EG Group, underpaid 3,317 staff by £824,000 and topped the list.
Alongside a list of 500 employers accused of underpaying staff, the government published reasons for underpayment.
Some of the common errors made by businesses include:
- Apprentices still being paid the apprenticeship rate despite completing it and reaching an age where a higher rate is required;
- Failure to pay the uprated wage after an employee’s birthday or after the 1 April changeover to rates;
- Unpaid travel time;
- Not paying for trial shifts;
- Incorrectly treating a worker as self-employed;
- Reductions or deductions that take pay below the minimum wage, such as Christmas savings schemes or uniforms.
A spokesperson from EG Group told the BBC that the company had payroll issues between 2015 and 2019 that had been “fully rectified”.
Centrica, which owns British Gas, failed to pay £167,814.69 to 1,583 workers. Holland and Barrett, the high street retailer, underpaid 2,551 workers by £153,079.
A spokesperson told the BBC that the mistake was not deliberate, but stemmed from legacy practices such as requiring employees to do training at home or asking them to wear specific shoes.
The national living wage for workers over the age of 21 is set at £12.21, having increased by 6.7% on the year before.
Business secretary Peter Kyle said: “Every worker deserves a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work, and this government will not tolerate rogue employers which short-change their staff. I know that no employer wants to end up on one of these lists. But our Plan to Make Work Pay cracks down on those not playing by the rules. This ensures a level playing field where all businesses pay what they owe while workers receive the boost to their living standards they deserve.”
Baroness Philippa Stroud, chair of the Low Pay Commission, said that continuing to name and shame employers would give the new Fair Work Agency a solid foundation when it begins operation next year.
“We are pleased the government is keeping up momentum with the publication of today’s naming round. It is vital that businesses understand the mistakes which can lead to underpayment, and that workers know where to go to enforce their rights,” she added.
In August, the LPC announced its central estimate for the national living wage from April 2026, at £12.71 an hour, a 4.1% increase on the current rate. The NMW and NLW rates will be confirmed at, or shortly before, the Budget on 26 November.
