Staffline shares plunge after firm reveals £32.6m minimum wage hit
Shares in recruitment firm Staffline plummeted more than 40 per cent today as it revealed it took a £32.6m hit for failing to comply with National Minimum Wage regulations.
Staffline said liabilities from the historical non-compliance had risen from £7.9m to £15.1m including £500,000 of advisor charges.
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Additional exceptional costs connected to audit procedures will be £1.8m, taking exceptional charges for the year to £32.6m.
The company said it was in talks with investors to raise £37m from a share issue to cut debt.
The non-compliance, which took place between 2013 and 2018, was related to “food production facilities and payment for preparation time”.
“These procedures have now been rectified so that all work related time is paid in accordance with current legislation,” the company said in a statement.
“Any additional time paid is charged to the customer in the same way as all other hours supplied.”
Staffline will announced its delayed results for the year to the end of December 2018 on 27 June.
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Chris Pullen, chief executive of Staffline, said: “Whilst the time taken to announce our 2018 financial results is frustrating, we look forward to posting these results at the end of June at which point we expect the business to return to normalised trading.
“Staffline continues to enjoy a unique position in its markets and once this episode is behind us we are confident of a return to future growth.”