B&Q underpaid 4,530 workers by nearly £457,000. Tesco, Whitbread and Five Guys were named too. The new Fair Work Agency is publishing the names, and your payroll audit is due this week.
According to the Fair Work Agency, its latest round named 658 employers for paying staff below the minimum wage. It ordered £4m in arrears returned to more than 27,000 workers, and issued £7m in penalties.
01Why this reaches small employers too
The big names lead the list because they have the most staff on the payroll. The rules are the same for a cafe with six people on the rota.
According to gov.uk, the most common causes are ordinary ones. Deductions for uniform or tools. Time spent opening up or cashing up. A worker's birthday moving them into a higher rate. The apprentice rate left running past its first year.
02The rates, and what a finding costs
The current rates apply from 1 April 2026. According to gov.uk, they are £12.71 an hour for workers aged 21 and over, £10.85 for 18 to 20 year olds, and £8.00 for under-18s and apprentices.
Arrears are recalculated at today's rate, not the rate that applied at the time. According to gov.uk, the penalty is 200% of the underpayment, up to £20,000 per worker. It is halved if the arrears and half the penalty are paid within 14 days.
That turns an old rota error into a cash problem rather than an accounting one.
03What to do this week
Run the five checks in our guide to the 2026 minimum wage payroll audit. It covers the mistakes gov.uk sees most often, and how to fund the fix if back pay is owed.
