Monsoon Accessorize tops government list of minimum wage offenders
Womenswear retailer Monsoon has topped a government list of companies failing to pay staff the national minimum wage.
An HMRC investigation found 115 non-compliant companies, which have today been named and shamed as owning workers nearly £400,000 in the last year, spanning sectors including hairdressing, retail, education, catering and social care.
On 1 October 2015, the National Minimum Wage (NMW) rose to £6.70.
Although some of the firms owe one-off payments to a handful of staff members, Monsoon Accessorize – which operates around 1,400 stores across 74 countries – owes nearly £105,000 to nearly 1,500 employees.
Business minister Nick Boles said: "Employers that fail to pay the minimum wage hurt the living standards of the lowest paid and their families.
"As a one nation government on the side of working people we are determined that everyone who is entitled to the national minimum wage receives it.
"Next April we will introduce a new National Living Wage which will mean a £900-a-year pay rise for someone working full time on the minimum wage and we will enforce this equally robustly."
The top 10 offenders as named by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills are:
- Monsoon Accessorize Ltd, London W11, neglected to pay £104,507.83 to 1438 workers
- Tyne & Wear Riding for the Disabled Association, trading as Washington Riding Centre, Washington, neglected to pay £27,151.79 to six workers
- Project Security UK Ltd, Doncaster, neglected to pay £23,857.11 to 18 workers
- Carl Keith Salons Ltd, Prescot, neglected to pay £20,535.03 to five workers
- Cornwall Glass & Glazing Ltd, trading as Exeter & MacKenzie Glass Centre, Exeter, neglected to pay £14,253.66 to nine workers
- Mr Gholam Ghiassi, Chaigley, neglected to pay £14,208.40 to two workers
- Helen Woodend, trading as New Brooms, Burton-in-Kendal, neglected to pay £13,447.01 to 14 workers
- Stoke College Educational Trust Ltd, trading as Stoke College, Sudbury, neglected to pay £12,094.83 to seven workers
- Village Garage Engineers Ltd, trading as Village Garage, Plean, neglected to pay £9,159.80 to three workers
- Aspect Plumbing & Heating Ltd, trading as Aspect Plumbing & Heating, Liverpool, neglected to pay £8,280.45 to one worker