Hundreds of well-known UK companies, including retail giants and major utility firms, have been fined by the government after it emerged they failed to pay staff the legal minimum wage.
Centrica, Holland & Barrett, EG Group, and other major employers are among 491 companies named and shamed by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) for breaching wage laws. The violations span several years and have resulted in a combined fine of £10.2 million.
Household Names Hit with £10.2m Penalty for Staff Underpayment
The announcement, part of a long-running government crackdown on unfair pay, revealed that around 42,000 workers were short-changed across the UK.
Many of the underpayments occurred between 2018 and 2023, during which time EG Group topped the list for failing to pay their staff properly.
The company, originally co-founded by the billionaire Issa Brothers, neglected to pay £824,384 to 3,317 employees, an average shortfall of £250 per worker.
Despite scaling back operations in the UK, including selling its petrol stations and Cooplands bakeries, EG Group continues to operate Starbucks franchises across the country.
Meanwhile, Centrica, the parent firm of British Gas, failed to pay £167,815 to 356 employees, averaging about £460 per person.
Firms as prominent as Centrica and Holland & Barrett are now facing public backlash after government data exposed how tens of thousands of workers were quietly denied their rightful earnings.
Retailers are not off the hook
Several high street names were also caught under the microscope.
- Go Outdoors was found to owe £240,106 to 2,058 employees, ranking seventh on the DBT list.
- Holland & Barrett took ninth place, having failed to pay £153,079 to 2,551 members of staff.
A spokeswoman for Holland & Barrett responded: “Holland & Barrett has been named by the government under the National Minimum Wage Naming Scheme, following a historic issue dating back to 2015–2021, which was fully resolved in 2022.
This was not a case of deliberate underpayment. The issue stemmed from legacy practices such as requiring team members to wear specific shoes, unpaid training completed at home, and time spent preparing for shifts at our Burton distribution site.
All arrears totalling around £150,000 across the six-year period were repaid in full once identified, and we acted swiftly to upgrade processes and systems.
While we respect the transparency of the scheme, we are disappointed that naming has occurred over three years after the matter was settled.”
Minimum wage changes and rising scrutiny
Currently, the National Living Wage stands at £12.21 for those aged 21 and over, up from £11.44 in the previous year. Workers aged 18–20 are now entitled to £10 per hour, while those under 18 or on apprenticeships receive a minimum of £7.55.
Earlier this year, the DBT released another list of over 500 employers who had underpaid staff between 2015 and 2022 a list that included big names such as Pizza Express, Lidl, and British Airways.
Business Secretary Peter Kyle was firm in his response: “Every worker deserves a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work, and this government will not tolerate rogue employers who short-change their staff.
I know that no employer wants to end up on one of these lists. But our Plan to Make Work Pay cracks down on those not playing by the rules.”
EG Group, Centrica, and Go Outdoors have yet to issue public statements in response to the government’s findings.
A warning to all employers
This latest crackdown sends a loud and clear message: failure to adhere to minimum wage laws, whether intentional or not, will come with serious financial and reputational costs.
Employers across the UK are now being urged to review pay structures, audit legacy policies, and prioritise wage compliance or risk ending up in the next wave of government enforcement.
