- Nearly 500 companies have been fined a combined £10.2 million by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) for failing to pay employees the legally mandated minimum wage.
- Around 42,000 workers have been repaid by their employers after being underpaid between 2018 and 2023.
- Major companies identified for breaches include EG Group, Centrica (owner of British Gas), Holland & Barrett, and Go Outdoors.
- EG Group was found to have short-changed the most workers, failing to pay £824,384 to 3,317 employees, while Centrica underpaid 356 workers by £167,815.
- Holland & Barrett stated their underpayment, totalling around £150,000 to 2,551 employees, was due to historic legacy practices between 2015-2021 and was fully resolved in 2022.
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