Three businesses in Bedford Borough have been named in a Government ‘name and shame’ list for paying staff less than the National Minimum Wage.
Aristo-Tots Nursery in Bedford, software company Universally Speaking in Wyboston, and Tenpin Limited, a bowling and activity centre in Cranfield, are three of 658 businesses across the country named for underpaying wages.
Aristo-Tots (Aristotots), a private nursery based on Goldington Road in Bedford, is listed as underpaying a total of 11 staff by £3,642.53.
Tenpin Limited in Cranfield underpaid a total of £1,660.07 to 67 of their staff, while Universally Speaking in Wyboston underpaid £1,588.36 to ten workers.
The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade says, “around £4 million has been repaid to 27,000 workers” across the country, while penalties totalling £7 million have been issued to the employers responsible.
The minimum wage was raised to £12.71 per hour for UK-based employees aged 21 and over in April, while employees aged 18 to 20 are entitled to at least £10.85 per hour.
Under-18s and apprentices are entitled to a minimum wage of £8 per hour. There are limited exceptions.
We have contacted Aristo-Tots Nursery, Universally Speaking and Tenpin Ltd to offer them the right of reply so they can confirm how the underpayments occurred and what they were doing to avoid future underpayments.
Only Tenpin Ltd responded.
A spokesperson for their company told the Bedford Independent, “The underpayment was due to a technical error with the payroll system, which was identified by HMRC.
“All current and former employees affected were repaid in full when the error was brought to light. We work closely and transparently with HMRC and are committed to ensuring a fair and supportive working environment for all our employees.”
While Aristo-Tots Nursery and Universally Speaking have not responded, we also checked their social media accounts to see whether they have issued any public statements.
At the time of publication, there were no updates on their accounts on Facebook, ‘X’, Instagram, LinkedIn and Bluesky.
Five-year window
Business naming is not strictly annual, with the latest underpayment announcement from three Bedford-based establishments covering periods as far back as 2017.
The spreadsheet of publicly available businesses notes that Aristo-Tots underpaid staff between February 2019 and May 2022, while Universally Speaking Ltd’s window was eight months, from February to October 2022.
The window covering Tenpin Ltd’s underpayment spread across five years, from October 2017 to November 2022.
“The best businesses know that looking after your workers isn’t just the right thing to do; it’s the smart thing to do, building the stronger, more successful businesses that drive growth in every postcode,” said Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds.
“Most employers already understand this, and I want to work with them to ensure they have every piece of guidance and support available to help them follow the rules.
“Short-changing your staff isn’t a shortcut to success, and we are determined to stamp it out,” he added.
The practice of ‘naming and shaming’ businesses for not meeting the minimum wage began in 2011, with more than £100 million in penalties issued to over 5,200 employers, leading to over £66 million being repaid to 650,000 workers nationwide.
“This naming round is an important reminder that paying the minimum wage is not optional, it is the law”, added the Chair of the Fair Work Agency Advisory Board, Matthew Taylor.
“Most employers want to do the right thing, and we will support them to comply, but those who fall short should expect robust enforcement to protect workers and maintain a fair playing field for responsible businesses.”
From this latest list, around £4 million has been returned to over 27,000 workers who had been denied the pay they were legally owed, with penalties totalling £7 million issued to the employers responsible.
If workers suspect they are being underpaid, they can visit gov.uk/checkyourpay to find out more about what they can do.
