John Lewis and Pret named and shamed for failing to pay minimum wage
The government has named and shamed some 191 employers, including John Lewis, Pret A Manger and The Body Shop, for paying workers under the national minimum wage.
Investigations by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs found that employers owed a total of £2.1m to over 34,000 workers who were underpaid between 2011 and 2018. Named employers have since been ordered to pay back what they owed and were fined an additional £3.2m.
A spokesperson for John Lewis, which was identified as having failed to recompense 19,000 staff members close to £1million, said the company was “surprised and disappointed” to be listed as the result of “a technical breach that happened four years ago” and “has been fixed.”
“The issue arose because the Partnership smooths pay so that Partners with variable pay get the same amount each month, helping them to budget. Our average minimum hourly pay has never been below the national minimum wage and is currently 15 per cent above it” the spokesperson said.
Other companies named on the list include Martin McColl, Sheffield United Football Club and The Body Shop with Pret A Manger accused of failing to pay 33 workers £9,574.
A spokesperson for Pret A Manger said its inclusion resulted from a “unique case” in 2019 when “a small number of Team Members opted to allocate some of their salary in exchange for childcare vouchers, as part of a voluntary salary sacrifice scheme.”
They pointed out that “the government has since changed the rules on voluntary sacrifice schemes and how how they interact with the National Minimum Wage underpayment list, in recognition of the benefits they can bring to employees.”
A representative for The Body Shop stated the company’s commitment to paying its employees the Real Living Wage. They pointed out that the breaches to minimum wage law were historic resulting from a routine audit in 2018 which found a number of employees needed to be reimbursed for uniform costs.
“The affected employees, which include previous and current employees, were reimbursed and our case was closed in 2018,” the representative said.
In a statement released with the list Business Minister Paul Scully said that it was “unacceptable for any company to come up short.” He said the government is sending a message that “employers that short-change workers won’t get off lightly.”
Chair of the Low Pay Commission Bryan Sanderson said that minimum wage laws provide vital protections: “These are very difficult times for all workers, particularly those on low pay who are often undertaking critical tasks in a variety of key sectors including care.”
Since 2015 the government has ordered employers to pay back over £100m to a million workers.
Read more: Millions of workers set to benefit as UK hikes minimum wage