NI employers named for not paying staff minimum wage
Getty ImagesTwenty-eight businesses in Northern Ireland have been named for failing to pay their employees the minimum wage, according to the Department for Business and Trade (DBT).
This comes after a significant uplift to the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage came into effect in April.
The department said 518 employers across the UK have been ordered to repay workers over £7.4 million after nearly 60,000 workers have been left out of pocket.
This includes 28 employers in Northern Ireland.
The HMRC investigations concluded between 2015-2022.
The businesses have since paid back what they owe to their staff and faced financial penalties of up to 200% of their underpayment.
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."
"This will put more money in working people's pockets, helping to boost productivity and ending low pay," he added.
What are the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage?
The National Living Wage went up from £11.44 an hour to £12.21.
The government said the increase was worth £1,400 a year for an eligible full-time worker.
The National Living Wage has applied to employees aged 21 and over since April 2024. Previously, you had to be 23.
The pay rates are set by the government every year on the advice of an independent group, the Low Pay Commission
Younger employees - aged between 16 and 20 - receive the National Minimum Wage.
For 18, 19 and 20-year-olds, it rose from £8.60 an hour to £10 on 1 April.
The government said the increase is worth £2,500 for an eligible full-time worker.
For 16 and 17-year-olds, the National Minimum Wage rose from £6.40 an hour to £7.55, an 18% increase.
The separate apprentice rate, which applies to eligible people under 19 - or those over 19 in the first year of an apprenticeship increased by the same amount.
NI employers named by department
1. Property Management Services NI Limited in Belfast - 414 employees owed over £136
2. Elliot's auto engineering in North Antrim - 1 employee owed over £17,000
3. Winemark in North Belfast - 186 employees owed over £84
4. Benedicts in south Belfast - 391 employees owed £37
5. Philip Russell Limited in Belfast - 111 employees owed £94
6. Regency Hotel in Belfast - 201 employees owed £99
7. Wine Inns Ltd in Belfast - 103 employees owed £90
8. Building Blocks Day nursery in Mid ulster - 45 employees owed £123
9. City Office NI Ltd - 2 employees owed £1,800
10. Whistledown Hotel in South Down - 46 employees owed £46
11. RJ Ferguson company Limited in Mid Ulster - 3 employees owed £670
12. CPM Electrical in Fermanagh- 4 employees owed £484
13. The Village store in West Tyrone - 1 employee owed £1725
14. Spice restaurant in Lagan Valley - 3 employees owed £552
15. R Loughlin Electrical in west Tyrone - 3 employees owed £514
16. Annavale Joinery Works - 4 employees owed £366
17. Colemans Garden Centre - 35 employees owed £41
18. McAleer and McGarrity in Mid Ulster - 2 employees owed £603
19. Trinity Park Nursery - 17 employees owed £60
20. Birdies Day nursery - 8 employees owed £102
21. The Sooty Olive in Derry - 33 employees owed £24
22. Kids Korner nurseries in Belfast - 23 employees owed £33
23. Safe Gas NI Ltd - 1 employee owed £639
24. Kanto Stranmillis Ltd - 1 employee owed £590
25. Happy Children Nursery in Strangford - 12 employees owed £47
26. Euro Hand car wash - 7 employees owed £76
27. Ardmore Pre-cast concrete Ltd - 1 employee owed £525
28. Timberquay Ltd in Derry - 14 employees owed £16