Worksop firm named by Government as failing to pay minimum wage to workers

Solway Foods was on the list, published by The Deparment for Business and Trade and Kevin Hollinrake MP, minister for enterprise, markets and small business, following an investigation by HMRC concluded between 2015 and 2023

It says Solway Foods, as it was known as when it was investigated, failed to pay £16,429.09 to 513 workers.

The site is now owned by Samworth Brothers and no longer trades under the Solway Foods name.

The business was one of 524 employers named by the Government as having found to have failed to pay their workers nearly £16m in what the Government called ‘a clear breach of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) law, leaving over 172,000 workers out of pocket’.

The businesses named on the list have since paid back what they owe to their staff and have also faced financial penalties of up to 200 per cent of their underpayment.

Mr Hollinrake said: “Employees deserve to get paid properly for the hard work they put in.

"While the majority of businesses already do the right thing and pay their staff what they are owed, this announcement sends a message to the minority who aren’t, that there are repercussions to undercutting hard work from their staff.

"Whilst not all NMW underpayments are intentional, the Government has been clear that anyone entitled to be paid the NMW should receive it, and that enforcement action will be taken against employers who do not pay their staff correctly.”

Patricia Rice, independent commissioner at the Low Pay Commission, said: "At a time when the cost-of-living is rising, it is more important than ever that these workers receive the pay to which they are entitled.

“NMW underpayment not only cheats workers of their rightful due, it leaves compliant firms undercut by those who do not abide by the law.

"By naming the firms responsible for significant underpayment, we raise awareness of the nature and the scale of underpayment and encourage all employers to ensure that they fully comply with the law."

Your Guardian contacted the former Solway Foods site for comment and was told the site no longer traded as Solway Foods and they had no further comment to make.