MORE than 350 employers have been named and shamed today as the Government publishes the largest ever list of national minimum and living wage offenders.

Widnes-based Community Integrated Care (CIC) – one of the UK’s biggest social care charities – is number nine on the list for failing to pay £19,774 to 69 workers.

The charity on Miners Way supports more than 5,000 people across England and Scotland who have learning disabilities, mental health concerns, autism and age-related needs, including people with dementia.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy listed 360 businesses who underpaid 15,520 workers a total of £995,233, with employers in the hairdressing, hospitality and retail sectors the most prolific offenders.

As well as recovering arrears for some of the UK’s lowest paid workers, HMRC issued penalties worth around £800,000.

Employers who failed to pay eligible workers at least the new national living wage rate, which is currently £7.20 for workers aged 25 and over, were named.

Business minister Margot James said: “Every worker in the UK is entitled to at least the national minimum or living wage and this government will ensure they get it.

“That is why we have named and shamed more than 350 employers who failed to pay the legal minimum, sending the clear message to employers that minimum wage abuses will not go unpunished.”

Excuses for underpaying workers included using tips to top up pay, docking workers’ wages to fund their Christmas party and making staff pay for their own uniforms out of their salary.

Andrew Sleigh, chief financial officer at Community Integrated Care, said: “We are committed to being a fair and ethical employer.

"Until recently there was not a clear legal position on paying staff providing domiciliary care for their time spent travelling to appointments, and indeed the restricted funding from our local authorities in many cases did not support this.

“When recent case law meant that travel time should be factored into people’s pay, we acted swiftly to resolve this.

“We took proactive steps to contact all affected employees and fully reimburse them for the amount that they were owed.

“This is a matter that has affected many organisations in our sector and we would never intentionally undervalue our colleagues.

“We would like to offer our sincere apologies to all staff affected.

"This matter is now fully resolved to the satisfaction of HM Revenue and Customs.”