Argos tops list of UK businesses ordered to reimburse underpaid workers

Retail chain Argos topped a 233-strong list of UK businesses which were told to pay back £2m to underpaid workers, the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said on Wednesday.

Earlier this year, it was reported that Argos had underpaid its staff to the tune of £2.4m, and was handed a £1.5m fine from HMRC.

Employers were fined a record £1.9m following the report into low-paid workers, with retail, hairdressing and hospitality found to be the worst offenders.

After Argos, the largest amount of backpay ordered was for recruitment service provider Pearson Anderson, which must pay just under £50,000 to underpaid staff.

The BEIS scheme to recoup the pay for those short-changed by employers was introduced in 2013 and so far has claimed back more than £6m and fined companies £4m in the process.

“It is against the law to pay workers less than legal minimum wage rates, short-changing ordinary working people and undercutting honest employers,” said business minister Margot James.

"Today’s naming round identifies a record £2m of back pay for workers and sends the clear message to employers that the government will come down hard on those who break the law."

The UK government has pledged to spend £25.3m on minimum wage enforcement in 2017/18, a substantial increase from the £20m it spent during 2016/17.

Argos, which was acquired by Sainsbury's last year, agreed to pay £800,000 of the fine as part of a discount for agreeing to stump up the cash within a fortnight.

As part of a naming-and-shaming-and-fining system that came into force in 2013, HMRC levied the charges as it found Argos had asked staff to attend briefings and take part in security checks outside the working hours for which they were paid.

A spokesperson for the company said the practice of not paying its staff for such activities was swiftly rectified in light of the investigation.