Whitbread has been named by the government among 658 employers found to have underpaid staff below the National Minimum Wage, with the Premier Inn owner found to have underpaid 342 employees a combined £4,193.
The Department for Business and Trade said the businesses named in its latest enforcement round have since repaid around £4m to more than 27,000 workers, while penalties totalling £7m have been issued.
Alongside Whitbread, a further 32 hotels were also identified among the businesses found to have breached National Minimum Wage legislation.
The government said it plans to publish naming lists more regularly, allowing employers that have underpaid workers to be identified and required to address the issue more quickly. The latest list is the first naming round since the Fair Work Agency was established in April 2026 under the Employment Rights Act. The body brings enforcement of workers’ rights under a single organisation and currently has responsibility for National Minimum Wage enforcement, with holiday and sick pay enforcement also due to come under its remit.
Since the naming scheme began in 2011, the government said more than £100m in penalties has been issued to more than 5,200 employers, while over £66m has been repaid to around 650,000 workers.
Jonathan Reynolds, business secretary at the Department for Business and Trade, said: “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.
“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.”
Kate Dearden, minister for the Future of Work at the Department for Business and Trade, added: “Underpaying your staff is illegal and we will not let workers foot the bill for their boss failing to follow the rules.
“We’re making sure workers get the hard-earned pay they deserve, and where employers fall short, they will be held to account. Every employer should check their payroll now and reach out to Acas if they need further support.”
Whitbread has been contacted for comment.
Whitbread has been named by the government among 658 employers found to have underpaid staff below the National Minimum Wage, with the Premier Inn owner found to have underpaid 342 employees a combined £4,193.
The Department for Business and Trade said the businesses named in its latest enforcement round have since repaid around £4m to more than 27,000 workers, while penalties totalling £7m have been issued.
Alongside Whitbread, a further 32 hotels were also identified among the businesses found to have breached National Minimum Wage legislation.
The government said it plans to publish naming lists more regularly, allowing employers that have underpaid workers to be identified and required to address the issue more quickly. The latest list is the first naming round since the Fair Work Agency was established in April 2026 under the Employment Rights Act. The body brings enforcement of workers’ rights under a single organisation and currently has responsibility for National Minimum Wage enforcement, with holiday and sick pay enforcement also due to come under its remit.
Since the naming scheme began in 2011, the government said more than £100m in penalties has been issued to more than 5,200 employers, while over £66m has been repaid to around 650,000 workers.
Jonathan Reynolds, business secretary at the Department for Business and Trade, said: “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.
“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.”
Kate Dearden, minister for the Future of Work at the Department for Business and Trade, added: “Underpaying your staff is illegal and we will not let workers foot the bill for their boss failing to follow the rules.
“We’re making sure workers get the hard-earned pay they deserve, and where employers fall short, they will be held to account. Every employer should check their payroll now and reach out to Acas if they need further support.”
Whitbread has been contacted for comment.
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The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making
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It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution
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