A Watford-based home improvement chain has been named for not paying staff over £17,000 in minimum wages.

Wickes Building Supplies Limited, which has its head office in Colonial Way, failed to pay the sum to 1,870 employees, according to an announcement by the Department for Business and Trade yesterday (February 20).

The business was among 524 in the UK to be named for not paying over 172,000 workers the National Minimum Wage (NMW), following a HMRC investigation between 2015 and 2023.

Wickes said that the government carried out a minimum wage audit of the Travis Perkins Group in 2017, of which Wickes was a wholly owned subsidiary at the time. 

  Watford Observer: Wickes is headquartered at Vision House, Colonial Way, in Watford.Wickes is headquartered at Vision House, Colonial Way, in Watford. (Image: Google Maps)

A spokesperson said: “The audit concluded in 2019 and found a minor unintentional breach by Wickes that resulted in an average underpayment of £9.19 to 1,871 colleagues. The error was related to the colleague lottery and the end of shifts being incorrectly recorded. It was rectified immediately, with the underpayment settled in 2019.

“Wickes is committed to ensuring that we comply with all legislation and pay our colleagues at least National Minimum Wage. Following the demerger from Travis Perkins Group in 2021 we have implemented our own National Minimum Wage processes and take proactive steps to ensure that we remain compliant on an ongoing basis.”

The Department for Business emphasised that not all underpayments are intentional, but added enforcement action will be taken against employers who do not pay their staff correctly.

Kings Langley-based Stedman Plumbing & Heating Limited, which employs 15 people, was also listed for failing to pay £1,224.34 to two apprentices, which the business owner said was unintentional.

He said he initially paid them over the minimum wage for apprentices, but their salaries fell below the legal standard as his accountant didn't notify him of increases to the NMW.

He said the business cut ties with the accountant when they were told of the breach in 2019.

The owner added: “Obviously as soon as we found out we did it, we gave him the money instantly.”

One of the apprentices in question had left the business upon the investigation in 2019 but he said, “Of course we would have apologised to him if we saw him at the time”.

The Department for Business said it had made companies pay back nearly £16 million in underpayment to workers, as well as additional financial penalties of up to 200% of what was owed.