Three businesses in the north and north-east have been named and shamed for breaking national minimum wage laws.
The UK Government has identified 179 employers for underpaying 9,200 minimum wage workers by £1.1million, with the worst offenders being retailers, hospitality businesses and hairdressers.
In Scotland, 15 employers had underpaid more than 200 minimum wage workers by nearly £75,000.
The businesses have now been fined a total of £70,000 and the employees will be paid what they are owed.
Among those were takeaway chain 1st Pizza Direct, of Glenurquhart Road, Inverness, which was found to have underpaid 87 staff by nearly £26,000 – an average of £300 per staff member.
Last night, company director Mario Roszak said the underpayments were a genuine mistake, caused by accountants failing to update the old system of drivers having £2.50 deducted from their paypackets each day to cover insurance and cleaning.
“There was an accountant’s mistake,” he said. “We did something wrong but we were not hiding it or trying to do anything dodgy — these were automated payments.
“We didn’t know the rules had changed and, when we were told, we paid back all the drivers with interest in the middle of last year.
“One driver received £4,000. All our drivers still work for us and they are happy about this so the case is closed for us.”
Stornoway hairdresser Zoe MacDonald, of Unique Hair and Beauty on Francis Street, owed one member of staff £686.
“We were actually told by the council that was what she should have been getting paid,” she said. “We paid her straight away.”
Westhill catering company Entier, based at the Olive House in Arnhall Business Park, owed one member of staff £403. The company was contacted for comment.
The name and shame list comes just weeks before the next rise on April 1, when the National Living Wage will go up from £7.50 to £7.83 per hour.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will launch a campaign to raise awareness of the new rates and encourage workers to speak to their employer if they think they are being underpaid later this month.
