Broughton | Monsoon named and shamed for not paying staff minimum wage

Retailer Monsoon which has an outlet on Broughton Retail Park has been ‘named and shamed’ by HM Revenue and Customs for failing to pay workers the minimum wage.

The latest list of 115 wage dodging companies published by HMRC todays reveals Monsoon ‘unintentionally’ ripped off 1,438 of its workers – more than a quarter of its UK retail workforce – to the tune of £104,507.83.

The company has been forced to reimburse staff and pay a fine of £28,147.81.

The privately owned fashion retailer is the highest profile company named by Business Minister Nick Boles for failing to pay its staff the national minimum wage.

The retailer had previously required all staff to wear Monsoon clothes on duty, after buying them at a discount.

The compulsory expense meant in effect many staff were taking home less than the minimum wage. Monsoon has since started paying a clothing allowance and raised wages.

It’s not known how many staff from its Broughton branch were affected.

Monsoon spokesperson: 

“Monsoon Accessorize has recently been working with HMRC in a wide-ranging review of its payroll practices in relation to the national minimum wage. This review has revealed an historic, unintentional breach of the regulations in respect of its staff discount policies for Monsoon clothing. Monsoon is pleased that this issue has been identified and has already taken prompt action to remedy it.”

Business Minister Nick Boles said:

Employers that fail to pay the minimum wage hurt the living standards of the lowest paid and their families.

As a one nation government on the side of working people we are determined that everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum Wage receives it.

Next April we will introduce a new National Living Wage which will mean a £900-a-year pay rise for someone working full time on the minimum wage and we will enforce this equally robustly.

On 1 October 2015, the National Minimum Wage (NMW) rose to £6.70. Employers should be aware of the different rates for the National Minimum Wage depending on the circumstances of their workers.

A quarter of all Flintshire jobs pay less than living wage – and it is’nt improving! [icon type=”external-link”]

Over a quarter of all jobs in Flintshire pay less than the living wage – the minimum income deemed necessary for a worker to meet their basic needs.
Around 17,000 jobs in Flintshire pay paid less than the proposed £7.85 living wage in 2014 according to figures released today by the Office for National Statistics (ONS)

There are more than 1,800 accredited living wage employers in the UK, with 200 having agreed to pay at this level in recent months.

According to the Living Wage Foundation there are currently NO accredited employers in Flintshire paying the Living Wage currently.

Flintshire has the highest share of women in low-paid part-time jobs in Wales [icon type=”external-link”]

The majority of women working part-time in Flintshire earn less than the living wage – the highest proportion in Wales and the ninth highest in Britain – according to research published by Wales TUC.

Women earn just 66p for every pound earned by men working full-time, a pay gap of 34.2 per cent.

One of the main reasons for this huge gender pay divide is the large concentration of women doing low-paid, part-time work, says the TUC.

Wales TUC analysis of official figures from the House of Commons Library show that in Flintshire three in five women, around 60 per cent, working part-time are paid below the living wage, Across the UK around two in five part-time jobs pay less than the living wage.

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