Nearly 500 employers who failed to pay the minimum wage have been named in a new list published by the Government.
Around 42,000 workers have been repaid by their employers, including well-known high street brands, with employers receiving fines totalling £10.2million for breaking the rules. Cineworld, Go Outdoors, Holland and Barrett, and Iceland are among some of the larger firms included in the list of 491 names published on Friday.
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 who 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 whilst workers receive the boost to their living standards they deserve.”
Action comes as part of the Government’s reforms to workers’ rights and enforcement in its “Plan to Make Work Pay”, which is set to benefit around 15 million, or half of all UK workers.
From April 2026 the Employment Rights Bill will establish a new Fair Work Agency with more powers to tackle employers underpaying workers and failing to pay holiday and sick pay. It will also aim to ensure “hard work is properly rewarded” with fair treatment and decent pay.
Employment rights minister Kate Dearden said: “This Government is taking direct action to ensure workers get every penny they’ve earned, and to put an end to bad businesses undercutting good ones.
She added: “With our new Fair Work Agency and the coming Employment Rights Bill, this Government is keeping our promise to Britain to make work pay again.”
According to the Department for Trade and Business (DTB), as much as £6million as been paid back so far to undercut workers. The full list of 491 companies that have been fined can be found here.
The national living wage was £11.44 per hour in the year to the end of March, and has risen to £12.21 since April.
The minimum wage for 18-20-year-olds rose to £10 this year, and for apprentices and those aged under 18 it rose to £7.55.
A spokeswoman for Holland and Barrett, which is noted to have failed to pay £153,079 to 2,551 workers, said: « Holland & Barrett has been named by the Government under the National Minimum Wage Naming Scheme, following a historic issue dating back to 2015-2021 which was fully resolved in 2022.
« This was not a case of deliberate underpayment. The issue stemmed from legacy practices such as requiring team members to wear specific shoes, unpaid training completed at home, and time spent preparing for shifts at our Burton distribution site. All arrears – totalling around £150,000 across the six-year period – were repaid in full once identified, and we acted swiftly to upgrade processes and systems.
« While we respect the transparency of the scheme, we are disappointed that naming has occurred over three years after the matter was settled. »
A spokeswoman for Go Outdoors, which also featured among the names on the list for failing to pay £240,105.62 to 2,058 workers, said: « The payments made by Go Outdoors in 2022 relate to practices pre-dating the acquisition and integration of the business by JD Sports following an HMRC review. All payments that were due to colleagues and HMRC were settled in 2022. »
