St Johnstone and Wigan Warriors named on Government's 'rogue employers' list
St Johnstone failed to pay £14,266.74 to 28 workers, including 25 apprentice footballers; Wigan Warriors failed to pay £4,559.24 to one worker; All of the 139 companies named on the Government's 'rogue employers' list have paid back their workers
Thursday 31 December 2020 13:13, UK
St Johnstone FC and Wigan Warriors have been named in the UK Government's "rogue employers" list for failing to pay the minimum wage.
Scottish Premiership side St Johnstone failed to pay £14,266.74 to 28 workers, including 25 apprentice footballers.
Super League club Wigan Warriors were also on the list, having failed to pay to pay £4,559.24 to one worker.
The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) named the 139 companies who were served a notice of underpayment during this period, following investigations by HMRC between 2016 and 2018.
Each of the companies named on the list have now paid back their workers - a combined total of £6.7m - and were forced to pay financial penalties.
Business Minister Paul Scully said: "Paying the minimum wage is not optional, it is the law.
"It is never acceptable for any employer to short-change their workers, but it is especially disappointing to see huge household names who absolutely should know better on this list.
"This should serve as a wake-up call to named employers and a reminder to everyone of the importance of paying workers what they are legally entitled to.
"Make no mistake, those who fail to follow minimum wage rules will be caught out and made to pay up."
Wigan Warriors said their breach of the law was due to a "clerical oversight" and they co-operated with HMRC accordingly.
A statement read: "During 2017 Wigan Rugby League Club Ltd was selected as part of HMRC's routine monitoring procedures for a full review and audit of its compliance with National Minimum Wage Regulations.
"The company provided HMRC with full and transparent access to the company's records during their review.
"During the course of HMRC's audit, one administrative employee was found to not have been paid in accordance with NMW regulations for a short period during 2017.
"This had been caused by a clerical oversight at the time the individual commenced employment with the company.
"The company quickly responded to the situation and carried out a full investigation into the circumstances that led to the oversight.
"It was quickly ascertained that the oversight was an isolated incident. The situation with the employee in question was immediately corrected, including making up full pay in line with NMW for the period in question.
"Systems and procedures have since been updated to ensure that such an oversight would not occur again in the future.
"HMRC's audit found the company to be fully compliant with National Minimum Wage regulations in all other areas and recognised that there was no intent to deceive or obstruct.
"Wigan Rugby League Club Ltd takes the National Minimum Wage Regulations extremely seriously and recognises that we have a clear responsibility as an employer to ensure the company complies with these regulations."
St Johnstone said it was "extremely disappointed" to find themselves in such a position.
A statement from the Scottish Premiership club said: "25 of the 28 employees were apprentice footballers with the club. Due to the absence of written evidence to support our position in relation to hours worked as opposed to the actual rate of pay, the club was unable to disprove HMRC's estimate of the average hours worked per week by these employees.
"The hours of work undertaken by our apprentices was fully reviewed and changes were implemented immediately following HMRC's outcome.
"The perceived failure to pay three other employees the National Minimum Wage related to voluntary deductions from pay by these employees.
"The club prides itself in treating our staff fairly and we are extremely disappointed to find ourselves in a position whereby we are criticised for failing to meet National Minimum Wage requirements."
