Workers to receive millions after being underpaid by employers
Workers to receive millions after being underpaid by employers
HM Revenue and Customs has forced employers to repay a total of £7.4million to 59,000 members of staff after investigations found they had been underpaid
Nearly 60,000 UK workers have been underpaid
(Image: Getty Images )
Thousands of workers who have been short-changed are set to receive a collective repayment of over £7.4 million. This is the outcome of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) investigations that ran from 2015 to 2022 and identified 518 employers and businesses as having underpaid close to 60,000 staff members.
It includes more than 20 Welsh companies. These employers have since settled their debts with employees and have also been slapped with financial penalties that could reach up to 200% of the owed amount. This restitution arrives in the wake of the minimum wage increasing by 6.7% this April.
The hike has seen the hourly minimum wage for those aged 21 and above rise from £11.44 to £12.21, while those between 18 to 20 years old saw an increase from £8.60 to £10, and under-18s and apprentices from £6.40 to £7.55 per hour. For money-saving tips, sign up to our Money newsletter here .
The boost comes alongside a major upgrade to the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage, which has effectively put an extra £1,400 in the pockets of full-time workers on the National Living Wage and provided substantial support to millions of families throughout the nation.
Alongside this, there has been the introduction of the most consequential enhancements to workers' rights in decades through the Employment Rights Bill.
Commenting on the issue, Minister for Employment Rights Justin Madders stated: "There is no excuse for employers to undercut their workers, and we will continue to name companies who break the law and don't pay their employees what they are owed.", reports the Mirror.
Article continues below
He further emphasised government commitments, saying that "Ensuring workers have the support they need and making sure they receive a fair day's pay for a fair day's work is a key commitment in our Plan for Change. This will put more money in working people's pockets, helping to boost productivity and ending low pay."
Baroness Philippa Stroud, Chair of the Low Pay Commission, remarked: "We welcome today's publication. Underpayment leaves workers out of pocket and disadvantages the majority of employers who do abide by the rules.
"These naming rounds play an important part in ensuring that all workers receive their full wages and that they are aware there is support for them to ensure that they do."
What to do if you've been underpaid
To determine if you've been underpaid, scrutinise your payslips against the current minimum wage rates. If your wages appear short, firstly approach your employer to seek a resolution. Failing that, lodge a complaint with HMRC via GOV.UK, who will examine your case and ensure any owed pay is reimbursed.
Should an employer default on payment, HMRC can issue an arrears notice plus a penalty for not observing the minimum wage requirements.
In extreme cases where an employer continues non-compliance, HMRC can initiate court proceedings on the worker's behalf. Additionally, employees can report underpayment by contacting the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) via their pay and work rights helpline at 0300 123 1100.
Article continues below
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
North Wales Chronicle
11 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Cesc Fabregas says he believes in ‘long-term' Como project amid links to Inter
The former Arsenal and Spain midfielder guided the team to an impressive 10th-place finish in their first top-flight campaign for 21 years helped by a club-record six-match winning run between April and May. A first season in senior management for the 38-year-old ended with his reputation as a head coach significantly raised, reportedly catching the eye of Inter who are without a manager after Simone Inzaghi departed this week in the aftermath of Saturday's 5-0 Champions League final loss to Paris St Germain. 'I really believe in the Como project,' Fabregas said at the SXSW event taking place in London, as reported by La Gazzetta della Sport. 'I started with this club because I was thinking about a long-term project. I don't want to finish my career at a club where there's a project for one or two years and then everything ends.' Fabregas, who is a minority shareholder of the club, joined Como as a player in 2022 and played out the final year of his career with the club in Serie B. After retiring the following summer, he joined the coaching staff, briefly taking charge of the first team as caretaker after boss Moreno Longo was sacked. Welsh coach Osian Roberts took charge for the remainder of the promotion-winning season while Fabregas completed his UEFA coaching qualifications, with the World Cup and Champions League-winner taking over last summer. ⚫🔵✍️#ForzaInter #WelcomePetar — Inter ⭐⭐ (@Inter_en) June 4, 2025 'I really believe in Como's long-term project,' he said. 'I arrived here as a player and I'm very, very happy because I get to work in the way that I want. We have the same goals and the same ambition. 'The President allows me to work the way I want, the way I see things. Fortunately, we share the same vision and have the same goal, which is to go as far as possible. 'We've become a really good team together, in a small town, in a small club but with big, very big ambitions for the future.' Inter meanwhile have signed Croatia international Petar Sucic from Dinamo Zagreb. The midfielder, who has seven international caps, played last season on loan at Bosnian side Zrinjski Mostar.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
100,000 UK taxpayer accounts hit in £47m phishing attack on HMRC
HM Revenue & Customs has lost £47m after a phishing scam breached tens of thousands of tax accounts, a group of MPs has heard. Two senior civil servants at the tax authority told the Treasury committee that 100,000 people had been contacted, or were in the process of being contacted, after their accounts were locked down in what the officials said was an 'organised crime' incident that began last year. Taxpayers affected would suffer 'no financial loss', said John-Paul Marks, the HMRC chief executive. He told the committee: 'It's about 0.2% of the PAYE population, around 100,000 people, who we have written to, are writing to, to notify them that we detected activity on their PAYE account.' Asked whether this applied to individual working people's PAYE accounts, not companies, Marks replied: 'That's right, individuals. To be clear, no financial loss to those individuals.' He added: 'This was organised crime phishing for identity data outwith of HMRC systems, so stuff that banks and others will also unfortunately experience, and then trying to use that data to create PAYE accounts to pay themselves a repayment and/or access an existing account.' An investigation into the matter, which took place last year 'including jurisdictions outside the UK', led to 'some arrests last year', Marks told MPs. Angela MacDonald, HMRC's deputy chief executive and second permanent secretary, added: 'At the moment, they've managed to extract repayments to the tune of £47m. Now that is a lot of money, and it's very unacceptable. 'We have overall, in the last tax year, we actually protected £1.9bn worth of money which sought to be taken from us by attacks.' MacDonald stressed the breach was 'not a cyber-attack, we have not been hacked, we have not had data extracted from us'. She later added: 'The ability for somebody to breach your systems and to extract data, to hold you to ransomware and all of those things, that is a cyber attack. That is not what has happened here.' HMRC said it had locked down affected accounts and deleted log-in details to prevent future unauthorised access. Any incorrect information has been removed from tax records and officials have checked to ensure no other details have been changed. People affected will receive a letter from HMRC over the next three weeks. Marks also told the committee that HMRC phone lines were down on Wednesday afternoon, but said this was 'coincidental'. They will be 'back up and available in the morning', he added. An HMRC spokesperson said: 'We've acted to protect customers after identifying attempts to access a very small minority of tax accounts, and we're working with other law enforcement agencies both in the UK and overseas to bring those responsible to justice. 'This was not a cyber-attack – it involved criminals using personal information from phishing activity or data obtained elsewhere to try to claim money from HMRC. We're writing to those customers affected to reassure them we've secured their accounts and that they haven't lost any money.'
South Wales Guardian
an hour ago
- South Wales Guardian
HMRC has lost £47 million in breach of 100,000 taxpayer accounts, MPs hear
Two senior civil servants at HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) told the Treasury Committee that 100,000 people have been contacted, or are in the process of being contacted, after their accounts were locked down in what they said was an 'organised crime' incident which began last year. Taxpayers who are being affected will suffer 'no financial loss', according to John-Paul Marks, the chief executive of HMRC, the UK's tax authority. HMRC officials told us today that 100,000 HMRC customers were victims of a phishing scam, resulting in £47m of losses to the taxpayer. — Treasury Committee (@CommonsTreasury) June 4, 2025 Mr Marks told the Committee: 'It's about 0.2% of the PAYE population, around 100,000 people, who we have written to, are writing to, to notify them that we detected activity on their PAYE account.' Asked if this applied to individual working people's PAYE accounts, not companies, he replied: 'That's right, individuals. To be clear, no financial loss to those individuals. Mr Marks added: 'This was organised crime phishing for identity data outwith of HMRC systems, so stuff that banks and others will also unfortunately experience, and then trying to use that data to create PAYE accounts to pay themselves a repayment and/or access an existing account.' An investigation into the matter, which took place last year 'including jurisdictions outside the UK', led to 'some arrests last year,' Mr Marks told MPs. Angela MacDonald, HMRC's deputy chief executive and second permanent secretary, added: 'At the moment, they've managed to extract repayments to the tune of £47 million. 'Now that is a lot of money, and it's very unacceptable. 'We have overall, in the last tax year, we actually protected £1.9 billion worth of money which sought to be taken from us by attacks.' Ms MacDonald stressed the breach was 'not a cyber attack, we have not been hacked, we have not had data extracted from us'. She later added: 'The ability for somebody to breach your systems and to extract data, to hold you to ransomware and all of those things, that is a cyber attack. That is not what has happened here.' HMRC said it had locked down affected accounts and deleted log-in details to prevent future unauthorised access. Any incorrect information has been removed from tax records and officials have checked to ensure no other details have been changed. People affected will receive a letter from HMRC over the next three weeks. Elsewhere, Mr Marks told MPs that HMRC phone lines were down on Wednesday afternoon, but said this was 'coincidental'. They will be 'back up and available in the morning', he added. An HMRC spokesperson said: 'We've acted to protect customers after identifying attempts to access a very small minority of tax accounts, and we're working with other law enforcement agencies both in the UK and overseas to bring those responsible to justice. 'This was not a cyber-attack – it involved criminals using personal information from phishing activity or data obtained elsewhere to try to claim money from HMRC. 'We're writing to those customers affected to reassure them we've secured their accounts and that they haven't lost any money.'
