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179 employers have been caught this time round and, with the National Living Wage rates rising by up to 5.7% in April we will all need to pay attention. It is easy to get caught.

One of those named, Wagamama, protested: “This was an inadvertent misunderstanding of how the minimum wage regulations apply to uniforms and as soon as we were made aware of this in 2016 we acted immediately to correct the position.” Marriott also protested: “When an error was identified by a routine HMRC audit in 2015, we cooperated fully with HMRC and promptly reimbursed all those affected.”

Among those also caught out are numerous small employers in the hairdressing, childcare, hospitality and cleaning sectors.

It is a complex area and if you are employing people at, or even close to, the National Minimum Wage rates it would be worth a careful audit.

If the protests made by Wagamama and Marriott are true, then HMRC have clearly shown no mercy in naming and shaming them.

Malcolm Martin FCIPD

Author Human Resource Practice.