Three travel agency groups have been named in a Government list of UK companies that failed to pay the minimum wage.
The first ‘naming round’ – after Chancellor Rachel Reeves vowed in last year’s Budget to regularly publish a list of offending companies – shows Hays Travel, Just Go Travel and Midcounties Co-Operative failed to pay correct wages.
Hays Travel failed to pay £364,103.51 to 2,463 workers, while Just Go Travel – which was a Hays franchise and is now owned by Hays, operating as Hays Travel North West – failed to pay £97,660.24 to 271 workers. The list also names Midcounties Co-Operative as failing to pay £57,775.07 to nine workers.
In addition, Travelex Central Services failed to pay £8,969.83 to 404 workers.
They are among 389 UK employers in the list who have been told to pay a total of £7.3 million in wages owed to workers. They have also been told they must pay penalties.
Business Secretary Peter Kyle said: “A good employer doesn’t build their business on the back of unpaid wages, and I look forward to working with the new Fair Work Agency to ensure its powers are used to crack down on those who think the rules don’t apply to them.”
Employment Rights Minister Kate Dearden said: “We’re cracking down on employers who underpay. We’re making sure workers get the hard earned pay they deserve.
“I encourage every employer to check their payroll to ensure they don’t get caught out.”
Hays Travel said the underpayments date back to 2019. A spokesperson said: “We are committed to paying our people above National Living Wage. These instances of underpayment happened because of a technical issue in 2019, which we rectified as soon as we became aware of it. Everyone affected received the money they were owed.”
