A Coventry company has been fined for underpaying one of its workers by more than £1,000. SJ Wells Plumbing and Heating Limited was listed among hundreds of UK businesses that failed to pay the minimum wage.
Bosses at SJ Wells Plumbing and Heating underpaid an employee by £1,350.48. Hundreds of employers have been fined for illegally underpaying workers and ordered to repay more than £7.3m in wages.
Nearly 400 employers failed to pay the minimum wage to thousands of employees and have been hit with penalties totalling £12.6m. Government figures show that around 60,000 people were paid less than the legal threshold.
READ MORE: Face of woman wanted for multiple thefts in Coventry
Workers aged 18 to 20 must be paid at least £10 an hour, and under-18s have a minimum of £7.55, increasing to £8. Costa, Bupa Care Services and Hays Travel are among the companies publicly identified for illegally underpaying their employees.
According to the Department for Business and Trade, ISS Mediclean Ltd was the worst offender, failing to pay more than £1.5m to 6,580 employees. ISS Facility Services Ltd also underpaid 5,378 of its workers by more than £750,000.
Business Secretary Peter Kyle said: “A good employer does not build their business on the back of unpaid wages, and I look forward to working with the new Fair Work Agency to ensure its powers are used to crack down on those who think the rules do not apply to them.”
Employment Rights Minister Kate Dearden added: “We are cracking down on employers who underpay. We are making sure workers get the hard-earned pay they deserve.
“I encourage every employer to check their payroll to ensure they do not get caught out.”
Sign up for our FREE daily newsletter here for all the latest news about Coventry.