Leicestershire Businesses Fined for Underpaying Workers

Businesses in Leicestershire, including Leicester taxi firm Skyline Taxis and fashion retailer Xchangefashion Ltd, have been fined for failing to pay employees the minimum wage. The companies owed hundreds of workers tens of thousands of pounds in back pay. The Labour Government has released a list of local businesses that breached the rules, vowing to crack down on rogue employers who short-change their staff.

Key Takeaways:

• Seven Leicestershire businesses failed to pay employees the minimum wage, with the largest offender being Skyline Taxis, which owed £44,562.15 to 29 workers.
• Xchangefashion Ltd, a Leicester-based fashion retailer, was the second worst offender, underpaying 37 workers by £11,729.65.
• The companies were fined a total of £10 million, with fines ranging from 200% to 300% of the missing wages.
• The Labour Government has vowed to crack down on rogue employers who short-change their staff, with Business Secretary Peter Kyle stating that "every worker deserves a fair day's pay for a fair day's work."
• Skyline Taxis told LeicestershireLive that the underpayment was due to a "genuine misunderstanding" around travel time calculations, and that they had taken remedial steps and paid all affected workers in full.
• A full list of the local companies who breached the rules can be found below.

Statistics:

• £44,562.15: The amount owed by Skyline Taxis to 29 workers.
• £11,729.65: The amount owed by Xchangefashion Ltd to 37 workers.
• £10 million: The total amount of fines issued to the seven companies.
• 500: The number of employers across the country who failed to correctly pay staff, affecting 42,000 workers.