South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth has called it ‘unacceptable’ and said there is ‘no excuse’ for firm’s failure to pay the national minimum wage.

The comments come after a new report from HMRC revealed that 260 firms across the UK were fined and forced to pay staff money owed after failing to pay the national minimum wage.

In Scotland, 28 firms were fined including 1 company based in Dumfries and Galloway and 3 based in Ayrshire.

Annandale Bed and Bath Service Limited, failed to pay £1,803.22 to 3 workers.

Mrs Therese McMonagle trading as Teri’s Hair Salon, failed to pay £1,408.92 to 2 workers.

May’s @ The Hollybush Ltd trading as The Hollybush Inn, failed to pay £935.81 to 1 worker.

Arran Brew Ltd, failed to pay £872.77 to 2 workers.

Colin Smyth MSP said, “There is no excuse for companies that fail to pay the national minimum wage. It should be a basic human right to people are paid for the work they do, so it is unacceptable in this day and age for people not to be paid correctly. It is important that the UK and Scottish Government continue to monitor and protect workers’ rights, across the country.

Reports like this show that companies that fail to pay their workers the minimum wage is still a major issue in our communities and is vital to show firms that failure to implement fair fairly will result in punishment, both financially and in reputation. It’s worth remembering that these firms failed in some cases to pay staff the legal minimum of £7.50 per hour for over 25s and as low as £3.50 for an apprentice. That wasn’t even the Living Wage which 

What the report also shows is that major employers such as Primark and SportsDirect with their own human resources departments are just as guilty as any small local firm who may argue that they made an administrative error. We must protect the right to be paid a basic rate for any work carried out no matter the size of the firm and I hope companies who have been fined will see this as a wake-up call and enact a change of culture to prevent the law being broken again.”

The full report into firms who failed to pay the National Minimum Wage can be found: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/17m-back-pay-identified-for-a-record-16000-workers-as-260-employers-are-named-and-shamed-for-underpaying-minimum-wage-rates