The government has awarded four contracts to companies previously criticized for failing to pay the minimum wage. I can reveal.
Companies hired by the government to provide services, including temporary employment and critical infrastructure repairs, were named “by name” on a list of companies that did not pay their workers the minimum wage.
She has at least 12 multi-million dollar contracts with companies that have been found to violate the Minimum Wage Act, according to statements made by government ministers in response to questions from Labor Parliament.
Four were awarded after the companies appeared on the list, and order dates for the remaining eight are unknown.
The list, last published under Boris Johnson’s government in December 2021, contained more than 200 companies.
HMRC found violations against the listed companies, including paying dock workers below the minimum wage, unpaid work hours, including for compulsory tuition or trial shifts, and failure to pay correct wages to apprentices.
In February, the government said all HMRC investigations into named companies had been completed and none had violated the Minimum Wage Act.
Technology Secretary Paul Scully, who was Secretary of Commerce at the time of the announcement, compared the companies to “Scrooge” and said companies should know better.
Mitya, who had not paid £17,893 to 91 workers by 2021, was hired by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) a year later to repair infrastructure. The company is a permanent government contractor and is valued in excess of £1 billion on the London Stock Exchange.
Mitya’s inclusion on the 2021 list was not the first time she has been called out by the government, having been listed in 2016 for underpaying a worker by more than £1,000.
Hays Recruitment, which has a track record of underpaying 450 workers by 2021, has won regular government contracts, including a deal with the Department of Health earlier this year. Hays regularly accommodates temporary workers or employees of government agencies. The company provided staff for the testing and tracing program during the Covid pandemic.
Calor Gas, which won a government contract from the Department of Defense shortly after the government denounced it, was accused by HMRC of falsely cutting the wages of eight employees.
Integrated Water Services, a subsidiary of South Staffs Water, awarded Defra less than a year after it was exposed by the government for violating the minimum wage for five workers.
Labor MP Justin Madders, who presented parliamentary questions on companies, said I that the government undermined their name and shame by placing an order on the company.
Madders said: “It is clear that the Conservatives are not taking the minimum wage seriously enough. Ministers are ridiculing their own inappropriate shaming system by rewarding companies that illegally underpay their workers with lucrative contracts in which they receive taxpayer money.
A spokesman for Hays Recruitment said: “We take our obligation to comply with the law very seriously and can confirm that a few years ago this was an isolated case where a very small number of temporary workers were underpaid for a small amount due to an administrative violation. error.
“When this issue was discovered in 2018, it was quickly resolved and the workers were immediately compensated and were delighted that we had resolved the issue. We have since implemented additional controls to ensure that any rate changes are applied immediately to prevent this from happening again.”
A spokesman for Mitie said: “At the time HMRC acknowledged that this was an ‘accidental and technical’ violation, steps were taken to prevent it from happening in the future.”
A government spokesman said: “We take minimum wage enforcement seriously and recognize that everyone who is entitled to the minimum wage must receive it and take strict action against employers who do not pay their workers properly.
South Staffordshire Water and Calor Gas also asked for comment.
Source: I News
I’m Sandra Hansen, a news website Author and Reporter for 24 News Reporters. I have over 7 years of experience in the journalism field, with an extensive background in politics and political science. My passion is to tell stories that are important to people around the globe and to engage readers with compelling content.