Tesco has failed to pay more than £5 million to 78,000 workers, the UK government has revealed.

Last week a list of 139 rogue employers who have avoided paying minimum wage to some of their employees was published by the government.

The list revealed that collectively these companies failed to pay £6.7 million to more than 95,000 workers.

Tesco was by far the biggest offender, being the only company on the list reaching a six-figure shortfall.

Business minister Paul Scully said that the list should be a “wake-up call” to rogue bosses, after the department relaunched the naming scheme after a two-year gap.

“Paying the minimum wage is not optional, it is the law. It is never acceptable for any employer to short-change their workers, but it is especially disappointing to see huge household names who absolutely should know better on this list,” added Scully. “This should serve as a wake-up call to named employers and a reminder to everyone of the importance of paying workers what they are legally entitled to.”

He said that those who fail to follow minimum wage rules will be “caught out and made to pay up.”

According to the government, one of the biggest causes of minimum wage breaches was low-paid employees being made to cover work costs, which would eat into their pay packet, such as paying for uniform, training or parking fees.

Alongside this, some employers failed to raise employees’ pay after they had a birthday which should have moved them into a different National Minimum Wage bracket.

Tesco had to pay back arrears of wages to workers who have not received minimum wage.

Companies that fail to pay their employees minimum wage could also face hefty financial penalties of up to 200 per cent of arrears - capped at £10,000 per worker - which are paid to the government.

Tesco, along with the other companies on the list, have paid back their workers, and have been forced to pay financial penalties.

Share Story: