Sports Direct and Primark top list of companies named and shamed for paying below national minimum wage

The Government has published a list of 260 employers that have failed to pay 16,000 workers a combined total of £1.7m in back-pay

Sports Direct and two of its supply agencies took three of the top four positions (PA)

Sports Direct and Primark have been named as two of the worst offenders on a Government list of 260 employers that have failed to pay the national minimum wage over the last seven years.

The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on Friday said that all in all, the employers had failed to pay 16,000 workers a combined total of £1.7m in back-pay, that would have equated to minimum wage, between 2010 and 2017.

Sports Direct and two of its supply agencies took three of the top four positions on the list for not paying employees a combined total of nearly £1m.

The Department of Business said that Sports Direct failed to pay £167,036 that it owed to 383 workers.

Its agency Best Connection, failed to pay £469,273 to 2,558 staff, while another agency, Transline, failed to pay £310,302 to 1,421 workers.

A spokesperson for Sports Direct said: “We cooperated fully with HMRC to make back payments to Sports Direct staff who were affected. We are committed to treating all our people with dignity and respect, and we pay above the national minimum wage."

Primark was the third biggest offender according to the list, underpaying 9,735 workers a combined total of £231,973 during the seven-year period.

The low-cost fashion retail chain admitting to having been underpaying staff by forcing them to pay £23.75 for a uniform out of their wages. It said that this policy had been scrapped in 2016.

“The company is committed to the national minimum wage and has apologised to the employees concerned. It has also reviewed its procedures in order to avoid this situation re-occurring,” a spokesperson for Primark said.

Sports Direct, its agencies and Primark have all since reimbursed the money due to their workers. The Government said that it had fined all companies on the list a combined total of £1.3m for underpayment.

Retail, hairdressing and hospitality businesses were among the biggest culprits.

The Department of Business said that many of the employers in question had been underpaying their workers as a result of not paying them for travelling between jobs, and because they were deducting money from pay for uniforms. Some were also not paying for overtime.

Business Minister Margot James said there was “no excuse” for not paying staff the minimum wage.

“The Government will come down hard on businesses that break the rules,” she said.

The national minimum wage is the minimum pay all workers are entitled to by law and the hourly rate you receive will depend on how old you are.

All working people aged 25 or over currently receive the national living wage which is set at £7.50 per hour.

Those under 25 will receive the national minimum wage, which ranges from £3.50 for apprentices to £7.05 for those aged between 21 to 24.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said the list should put the “frighteners” on rogue employers across the UK.

“Too many bosses across the country are denying workers the pay they’ve earned. Pay your staff properly or face hefty fines and get shamed in the papers.

“Minimum wage dodging has reached chronic levels in shops, salons and hospitality. The Government should focus their efforts to ensure that these sectors clean up their act,” she said.