UK fines WH Smith, M&S and others for not paying minimum wage

The government said on Wednesday that 202 companies – ranging from large retail chains to small businesses and individual entrepreneurs – defrauded the law and defrauded around 63,000 workers.

Companies have paid a total of 7 million pounds ($9 million) in arrears and fines for violations, according to a report released by the government’s Department of Business and Trade.

“Paying the statutory minimum wage is non-negotiable and all businesses, regardless of size, must ensure that their hard-working employees are not harmed,” said Kevin Hollinrake, the department’s minister.

“Most companies do the right thing and take care of their employees, but we’re sending a clear message to the minority who ignore the law: Pay your employees properly or you’ll face the consequences,” Hollinrake said.

WH Smith, one of the UK airports and rail giants, topped the list after failing to pay £1 million to 17,607 workers. M&S failed to pay £578,391 to 5,363 workers, while Sainsbury-owned Argos failed to pay £480,094 to 10,399 workers, the report said.

A spokesman for M&S said the company had been cited for an unintended technical glitch four years ago and had fixed it as soon as it became aware.

“Our minimum hourly wage has never been lower than the national minimum wage, it is currently higher and no colleague has been underpaid for this reason,” the spokesperson added. Britain’s minimum wage rose by 9.7% in April to £10.42 an hour.

The government in its report noted that not all minimum wage underpayments are intentional, but said there is no excuse for underpaying.

A Sainsbury’s spokeswoman said a pay error was discovered in 2018 which affected some Argos store staff and drivers and dates back to 2012 before the Argos takeover.

The spokeswoman added that the error had been rectified and the hourly rate for Argos workers was now aligned with Sainsbury’s.

In its response, WH Smith said it had misunderstood the way statutory pay regulations were applied in its policy on uniforms for staff working in its stores. “This was a genuine error, which was immediately rectified and all colleagues were reimbursed in 2019,” the company said.

($1 = 0.7834 pounds)