Two Nottingham companies which in total failed to pay more than £300,000 to their employees have been named. The Department for Business and Trade on Wednesday, June 21, "named and shamed" two businesses based in the city after they did not pay staff the legal minimum wage, which is £10.42 per hour for people older than 23-years-old.
The businesses have since paid back what they owe to their staff and have also faced financial penalties, the department said. The investigations by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs into the firms concluded between 2017 and 2019 - the Department for Business and Trade adding not all underpayments were intentional.
The employers previously underpaid workers by either deducting pay from workers’ wages, failing to pay workers correctly for their working time, or paying the incorrect apprenticeship rate. Buzz Group Limited, which runs a nationwide network of Bingo clubs, had the fifth highest underpayment to staff out of of 202 employers named across the UK.
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The business, which is based on Castle Marina Road, was listed as coming to a voluntary arrangement in 2020 after failing to pay £319,297.21 to 3,448 workers. A spokesperson from Buzz Bingo said: “We have always paid national minimum wage or above so when these matters came to light five years ago, we immediately took steps to revise our time recording technology and our staff uniform policies so the issues raised cannot be repeated.
"We would never intentionally short-change our hard-working team and we apologised in 2018 to all colleagues affected and immediately reimbursed them for any losses.”
Eunoia Enterprises Limited, a company which according to Companies House sells food, beverages, tobacco and fuel, was the only other Nottinghamshire company on the list. Based on Plantation Side, Hyson Green the firm failed to pay £2,798.84 to 31 workers.
The owner of the business was contacted for comment. Minister for Enterprise, Markets and Small Business Kevin Hollinrake said:
"Paying the legal minimum wage is non-negotiable and all businesses, whatever their size, should know better than to short-change hard-working staff. Most businesses do the right thing and look after their employees, but we’re sending a clear message to the minority who ignore the law: pay your staff properly or you’ll face the consequences."
