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Only six UK employers prosecuted for paying below minimum wage in six years
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Date: None

Just six employers have been prosecuted for paying employees less than the minimum wage in the past six years, despite tax authorities finding more than 6,500 violations.

An openDemocracy investigation also found that dozens of firms that were “named and shamed” by the UK government last year for failing to pay the minimum wage also collected millions in furlough payments.

Pizza Hut, Superdrug and Costco, as well as 136 other companies, were named as ‘rogue employers’ in the government’s most recent list, published in December 2020.

Many of these firms were able to claim millions in furlough payments through the government’s pandemic support scheme. This includes 58 companies that claimed furlough within two months of being ‘named and shamed’.

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Pizza Hut claimed up to £5m under the job retention scheme in December and January, having been publicly criticised for failing to pay some 11,000 workers almost £850,000.

Superdrug, which claimed up to £3m in furlough, underpaid 2,222 workers £15,000 between 2012 and 2017. Food wholesaler Costco claimed £500,000 and failed to pay almost £4,000 to 58 workers over the same period.

The five-star Manchester Lowry Hotel, which claimed up to £500,000 over the two months, was named and shamed for underpaying 99 workers £63,000 between 2011 and 2017. Workers in the hospitality industry and care sector are the most likely to be paid less than the minimum wage.

In total, more than a million workers were cheated out of £100m in wages by their employers between April 2015 and March 2021, according to figures from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

[1] Url: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/dark-money-investigations/only-six-uk-employers-prosecuted-paying-below-minimum-wage-six-years/
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