Scottish minimum wage dodgers named and shamed by HMRC

They were on a list of more than 100 UK employers identified by the UK government following HMRC investigations.

The current national minimum wage is set at £6.70 per hour for adults and UK business minister Nick Boles said employers that failed honour their legal obligation to meet that amount “hurt the living standards of the lowest paid and their families”.

The biggest underpayment north of the border involved Village Garage Engineers Ltd, trading as Village Garage in Plean, near Stirling, which neglected to pay about £9,150 to three workers.

Ian Balfour and Caroline Balfour, trading as Kirkcaldy-based A E Taxis, failed to pay more than £4,750 to three workers.

Margaret Jankowitz, trading as The Beeches Hair Studio in Clydebank, neglected to pay about £3,300 to three workers, while Paterson SA Hairdressing in Edinburgh failed to pay about £3,200 to 15 workers.

Other Scottish businesses named included:

Overall, the 115 UK companies named owed workers more than £389,000 in arrears. The firms spanned sectors including hairdressing, retail, education, catering and social care.

Since the name and shame scheme was introduced in 2013, 400 employers have been listed, with total arrears of nearly £1.2m and penalties of about £513,000.

Mr Boles said: “As a one nation government on the side of working people we are determined that everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum Wage receives it.

“Next April we will introduce a new National Living Wage which will mean a £900-a-year pay rise for someone working full-time on the minimum wage, and we will enforce this equally robustly.”

National minimum wage: