Charity-owned company pays 9,700 workers less than minimum wage

11 Dec 2017 News

A company largely owned by the Garfield Weston Foundation has been named and shamed by government for paying 9,735 people less than the minimum wage.

On Friday, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) named 260 employers for failing to pay 16,000 workers at least minimum wage rates.

The list included retail chain Primark, which BEIS said had underpaid 9,735 workers a combined £231,973.

The Garfield Weston Foundation owns 79 per cent of a holding company which is the majority shareholder of Associated British Foods, the parent company of Primark. The holding makes it the second wealthiest charitable foundation in the UK, with assets worth just under £10bn.

Overall, government investigators identified £1.7m in back pay for 16,000 workers across the 260 companies and fined employers £1.3m for underpayment.

Common reasons for errors made included failing to pay workers travelling between jobs, deducting money from pay for uniforms and not paying for overtime.

Business minister Margot James said: “There is no excuse for not paying staff the wages they’re entitled to and the government will come down hard on businesses that break the rules.

“That’s why today we are naming hundreds of employers who have been short changing their workers; and to ensure there are consequences for their wallets as well as their reputation, we’ve levied millions in back pay and fines.”

A spokesman for the Garfield Weston Foundation said the charity would not comment on Associated British Food issues.

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