[UK] Capita and British Airways ‘named and shamed’ for minimum wage failures

Capita, British Airways and Pizza Express are among a number of UK businesses to feature on a government ‘name and shame’ list for minimum wage failures, The Guardian reports.

Following HMRC investigations, more than 60,000 low-paid workers have received back pay worth £7.4m after 518 employers failed to meet the legal minimum wage.

The German-owned supermarket chain Lidl and Halfords were also reportedly on the list of culprits issued by the Department for Business and Trade.

A spokesperson for the department said that HMRC’s investigations were carried out between 2015 and 2022 but have only recently been completed with all back-payments agreed, allowing the full list to be published. 

Capita is one of the government’s biggest contractors and was found to be the worst offender, having failed to pay £1.5m to 5,543 workers.

A spokesperson for Capita said “inadvertent underpayments” were to blame between 2015 and 2021, due to issues including adding 25 minutes a week for call centre staff to log in for their shifts.

“All owed monies were paid immediately, and we are sorry for any impact this had on colleagues and former colleagues at that time,” the spokesperson said.

“Our processes and systems were updated to ensure there would be no further issues; we have continued to monitor them carefully, as well as any changes to employment regulations.”

Pizza Express failed to pay £760,702 to 8,470 workers, around £90 on average.

A spokesperson for Pizza Express reportedly said, “Once we were made aware of this historic unintentional technicality, which occurred between 2012 and 2018, we swiftly identified who was impacted, apologised and rectified.

“There’s nothing more important to us than fairly and accurately paying our team members.”

British Airways made the list for failing to pay £231,276 to 2,165 workers. The company stated that an audit in 2017 revealed “we had accidentally, slightly underpaid some of our cabin crew who joined us between 2014 and 2017 during their first two months of employment.

“We apologised and issued backdated payments several years ago.”

A Halfords spokesperson said, “The rates that we pay our colleagues are competitive and are at or above the minimum wage. However, in 2021, we found some historical work-related costs that should have been met by us as the employer rather than our colleagues. We moved quickly to identify those impacted in order to make the necessary payments.

“All of the costs involved are now met by the company.”

Paul Nowak - TUC general secretary - responded, saying that ministers needed to vigorously investigate breaches of minimum wage rules.

“Wage theft is bad for workers, families, and the economy,” Mr Nowak said. “Every pound stolen from a worker’s pocket is a pound not spent in local shops, cafes and high streets.”

Source: The Guardian

(Link and quotes via original reporting)

Capita, British Airways and Pizza Express are among a number of UK businesses to feature on a government ‘name and shame’ list for minimum wage failures, The Guardian reports.

Following HMRC investigations, more than 60,000 low-paid workers have received back pay worth £7.4m after 518 employers failed to meet the legal minimum wage.

The German-owned supermarket chain Lidl and Halfords were also reportedly on the list of culprits issued by the Department for Business and Trade.

A spokesperson for the department said that HMRC’s investigations were carried out between 2015 and 2022 but have only recently been completed with all back-payments agreed, allowing the full list to be published. 

Capita is one of the government’s biggest contractors and was found to be the worst offender, having failed to pay £1.5m to 5,543 workers.

A spokesperson for Capita said “inadvertent underpayments” were to blame between 2015 and 2021, due to issues including adding 25 minutes a week for call centre staff to log in for their shifts.

“All owed monies were paid immediately, and we are sorry for any impact this had on colleagues and former colleagues at that time,” the spokesperson said.

“Our processes and systems were updated to ensure there would be no further issues; we have continued to monitor them carefully, as well as any changes to employment regulations.”

Pizza Express failed to pay £760,702 to 8,470 workers, around £90 on average.

A spokesperson for Pizza Express reportedly said, “Once we were made aware of this historic unintentional technicality, which occurred between 2012 and 2018, we swiftly identified who was impacted, apologised and rectified.

“There’s nothing more important to us than fairly and accurately paying our team members.”

British Airways made the list for failing to pay £231,276 to 2,165 workers. The company stated that an audit in 2017 revealed “we had accidentally, slightly underpaid some of our cabin crew who joined us between 2014 and 2017 during their first two months of employment.

“We apologised and issued backdated payments several years ago.”

A Halfords spokesperson said, “The rates that we pay our colleagues are competitive and are at or above the minimum wage. However, in 2021, we found some historical work-related costs that should have been met by us as the employer rather than our colleagues. We moved quickly to identify those impacted in order to make the necessary payments.

“All of the costs involved are now met by the company.”

Paul Nowak - TUC general secretary - responded, saying that ministers needed to vigorously investigate breaches of minimum wage rules.

“Wage theft is bad for workers, families, and the economy,” Mr Nowak said. “Every pound stolen from a worker’s pocket is a pound not spent in local shops, cafes and high streets.”

Source: The Guardian

(Link and quotes via original reporting)