THREE Swindon businesses have been named and shamed after failing to pay their employees the proper national minimum and living wage.

The firms have been instructed to pay back a total of almost £9,000, divided between five staff, following a crackdown by HM Revenue and Customs.

Monica Faria, owner of West One Hair and Beauty in Westcott Place, was told to pay an outstanding £413 to one employee.

Jane Wood, trading as Addition Childcare, failed to pay £190.15 to a single worker.

Mackenzie Sanders racked up the highest figure of outstanding wages owed.

She was found to have failed to pay out £8,204 to three members of her staff at Filo Horses in Liddington.

Miss Sanders claimed that the failure was the result of being “screwed over” by an accountant who had not ensured the funds reached the employees as required.

“My advice would be to get an accountant you can trust who knows what they’re doing,” she said.

The Adver understands that all three of the employees have now been paid the correct amount in full.

Monica Faria and Jane Wood could not be contacted for comment.

Business Minister Margot James, who was responsible for overseeing the recovery of the unpaid funds, said: “It is against the law to pay workers less than legal minimum wage rates, short-changing ordinary working people and undercutting honest employers.

“Today’s naming round identifies a record £2m of back pay for workers and sends the clear message to employers that the government will come down hard on those who break the law.”

In total, across the country, 230 employers were found to have underpaid their staff.

A record £2m in required back pay was identified – shared between 13,000 of the UK’s lowest paid workers.

The employers were fined a record total of £1.9m for underpaying minimum wage rates.

The full list of businesses named and shamed as a result of the investigation has been published online at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s website.

Since 2013, the same scheme has identified £6m worth of back pay for 40,000 workers, with 1,200 employers being fined a staggering £4m.

Retail, hairdressing and hospitality businesses were found to be among the most prolific types of offenders.

Common errors made by employers in this round included deducting money from pay packets to pay for uniforms, failure to account for overtime hours, and wrongly paying apprentice rates to workers.

Melissa Tatton, director at HM Revenue and Customs, the Government’s enforcement arm on these matters, said: “HMRC is committed to getting money back into the pockets of underpaid workers, and continues to crack down on employers who ignore the law.

“Those not paying workers the national minimum or living wage can expect to face the consequences.”

For more information about your pay, or if you think you might be being underpaid, advice and guidance is available at www.gov.uk/checkyourpay