Two York businesses have today been named by the government for failing to pay their staff the minimum wage.
They were included on a list of around 660 employers from across the country who didn’t pay the statutory minimum.
For those 21 and over, the minimum wage is now £12.71. For those aged 18-20 it’s £10.85, and for under 18s and apprentices, it’s £8.
Today’s naming round is the latest step in the government’s commitment to publish naming lists more regularly so that bosses are “swiftly held to account and make improvements as soon as possible”.
One of those named on the list is Roots York Restaurant Ltd. This is the group with Michelin-starred chef Tommy Banks at the helm, that runs Roots York on Marygate, the Black Swan at Oldstead and The Abbey Inn, Byland.
Roots York Restaurant Ltd is listed as having arrears of £614.36 affecting 18 workers, with the average arrears per worker being £34.13.
The arrears period is between May 14, 2023 and 2 February, 2025.
The beer garden at the Abbey Inn. Photograph: Tommy Banks / Instagram
A spokesperson for the company said: “We are truly sorry to the 18 members of staff who were underpaid and very grateful to the National Minimum Wage Naming Scheme list for bringing the discrepancy in our company handbook’s wording to our attention.
“The miscalculation related to a genuine oversight around company uniform. While we provide our staff at our pub, The Abbey Inn, with aprons and T-shirts, we ask them in our handbook to wear their own jeans and trainers. Since these are everyday items, we hadn’t recognised the requirement to reimburse staff for buying and wearing their own items.
“We now understand that any uniform stipulation, however loose, should be recognised in our team’s pay.
“All affected employees have now been fully reimbursed, and we have sought guidance from both the Fair Work Agency and an independent employment specialist to ensure our processes are fair, accurate, and fully compliant going forward.
“We value our staff wholeheartedly – they are the beating heart of our business. We aim to do everything within our means to reward our employees fairly for the incredible work they do every day.”
Photograph: Canva
The other York business named on the list is The Mount Dental Practice and partner Dr Robert Glover.
Its arrears are given as £1,361.07 affecting two workers, with the average arrears per worker being £680.54. The arrears period is between 1 December 2022 and 29 February 2024.
A spokesperson for the dental practice said: “The arrears arose as a result of an administrative error concerning the dates associated with the apprenticeships of the two employees involved.
“Unfortunately, this meant that the incorrect rate of pay was applied for part of the relevant period.
“Neither employee was aware that there was an issue with their rate of pay at the time. As soon as the error was identified, we acted immediately and paid the full arrears owed to both employees.
“This was an inadvertent administrative error and was certainly not an intentional failure to pay our employees the National Minimum Wage.
“We take our responsibilities as an employer extremely seriously and have reviewed our processes to ensure that the appropriate apprenticeship dates and pay rates are correctly recorded going forward.”
‘Held to account’
Since first launching in 2011, the list of minimum wage arrears has seen more than £100 million in penalties issued to over 5,200 employers, leading to over £66 million being repaid to 650,000 workers.
Commenting on the publication of the list, minister for the future of work Kate Dearden said: “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.”
Dining and Cooking