Leamington and Warwick based companies named by Government for failing to pay workers minimum wage

The Department for Business and Trade revealed that nearly 60,000 workers have been left out of pocket after their employers did not pay them national living and national minimum wages.

The 518 employers and businesses named have paid back what they owe to their staff.

One of those was facilities management firm Acerta Group Limited based in Warwick.

The Courier and Weely News have contacted Acerta for a comment but at the time that this article was published the company had not responded.

Another was Brockencote Hall Hotel Limited which runs the Eden Hotel Collection and has its registered office based at the Mallory Court Hotel in Leamington – although the issue was not at its Leamington hotel but at its hotel in Kidderminister.

Lisa Redding, group people director at Eden Hotel Collection, said: “We are aware that one of our hotels, Brockencote Hall Hotel in Kidderminster, was recently included in a Government list of organisations concerning underpayments of the minimum wage. “This is the result of an audit carried out by HMRC in 2019, and specifically relates to work uniform, which stated that our people should have all of their uniform funded by their employer – as opposed to the industry-wide practice of funding for branded uniform items only. “After discussions with HMRC we agreed a value for certain self-funded items – such as trousers and shoes – would have taken some employee’s wages below the minimum wage threshold. “As a result – despite our uniform policy at the time abiding with wider industry practice – Eden promptly calculated and reimbursed staff for any shortfalls. “Eden Hotel Collection prides itself on looking after its workforce, which is why all of its hotel workforce are paid above the National Living Wage, along with a commitment to review all pay rates annually. “As an organisation, we now also provide a full uniform for our people, along with a quarterly contribution towards new footwear. “Staff feedback is a high priority for us, which is why Eden has also been named as one of the top 30 Best Places to Work in hospitality for the past two years – which is based on staff surveys. “As a group we are also proud of our 90-day staff retention rate – which currently sits at 97 per cent – and is driven by acting on feedback that we get from our workforce; which, for example, has included giving them access to their wages when they have been earned via a platform called Wagestream – as well as introducing innovative staff recognition schemes.”

Minister for Employment Rights, Justin Madders, said: There is no excuse for employers to undercut their workers, and we will continue to name companies who break the law and don’t pay their employees what they are owed.

"Ensuring workers have the support they need and making sure they receive a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work is a key commitment in our Plan for Change.

"This will put more money in working people’s pockets, helping to boost productivity and ending low pay.”

For more information and the full list of employers named visit https://tinyurl.com/yp8dbmk6