French Connection, Foot Locker among stores named and shamed by HMRC for not paying minimum wage

The clothes chains French Connection and Foot Locker, upmarket spa treatment business Champneys, discount retailer 99p Stores and hair dresser Toni & Guy were all caught breaking the law

(REUTERS/Rick Wilking )

Several of the biggest high street brands, worth millions of pounds, have illegally paid some staff less than the minimum wage.

The clothes chains French Connection and Foot Locker, upmarket spa treatment business Champneys, discount retailer 99p Stores and hair dresser Toni & Guy were all caught breaking the law by failing to pay hundreds of workers thousands of pounds, leading to hefty fines.

Not a single high street chain will commit to the living wage,

They were named and shamed alongside a further 48 employers across the UK by HM Revenue & Customs. Foot Locker, which last year made profits of $809m (£542m), failed to pay 601 workers at least the minimum wage of £6.50 per hour for over 21-year-olds, owing them a combined £16,718 – making the company the third worst on the list. Foot Locker said the problem was connected to its dress code, which requires staff to wear trainers that were “not consistently deducted as a wage offset”. All affected staff have since been reimbused.

French Connection was the fourth worst, with 367 workers £16,436 out of pocket. Less than a week ago it revealed gross profits of £83.4m. It said the problem was a clerical error relating to refunds staff were supposed to receive on buying outfits for work, and also not paying workers for attending staff meetings. All had since been repaid the extra cash.

A spokesman said: “French Connection co-operated fully with HMRC … We have also introduced additional administrative checks which will prevent this happening in the future. Whilst these underpayments were regrettable, in many cases the amounts involved were small.”

At Champneys Springs, the health spa retreat in Measham, Leicestershire, five workers were underpaid by £1,950. The manager of the resort declined to comment and head office staff could not be reached. It is not known whether staff were repaid.

The 99p Stores business neglected to pay £634 to 11 workers in Northampton. A spokesman said: “99p Stores has over 6,000 employees and in its 14 years of trading has never had this type of issue before. This matter related to one store and one store manager who acted on his own. The store manager was dismissed once the company was informed of his activities.”

Toni & Guy’s Wilmslow branch owed a worker £1,031, which franchise owner Rebecca Cook said was due to a former apprentice not being transferred from an apprentice salary to a worker salary: “I felt awful when I was told. It was an honest mistake.”

Since the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills introduced the naming and shaming tactic, it has revealed 210 employers in breach of the minimum wage rules, with total arrears of more than £635,000.

New laws mean companies can be fined up to 100 per cent of the amount owed, with a cap of £20,000 per worker not paid the minimum wage.

The Business minister Jo Swinson said: “There’s no excuse for companies that don’t pay staff the wages they’re entitled to – whether by wilfully breaking the law, or making irresponsible mistakes.”

Withheld wages: the worst offenders

Arta Restaurant, Glasgow – £45,124 owed to 2,895 workers

The Clothing Works, Corby – £17,007 owed to 38 workers

Foot Locker – £16,718 owed to 601 workers

French Connection – £16,436 owed to 367 workers