Widespread Issue Affects Large and Small Businesses Alike

  • WHSmith, M&S, and Argos ordered to pay unpaid wages to staff
  • Investigation by Department for Business and Trade (DBT)
  • WHSmith to pay £1m to over 17,000 workers
  • M&S to pay £500,000 to over 5,000 workers
  • Argos to pay £480,000 to over 10,000 workers
  • Errors due to uniform policies and technical payroll issues
  • Over 200 businesses named in the DBT report
  • Includes both large retailers and small businesses

WHSmith, Marks & Spencer (M&S), and Argos have been ordered to pay unpaid wages to thousands of staff following an investigation by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT). WHSmith must pay over £1 million to more than 17,000 workers due to a policy requiring them to supply their own uniforms, causing their wages to fall below the national minimum. A WHSmith spokesperson said the underpayment was an ‘error’ and workers were reimbursed in 2019. M&S will pay over £500,000 to over 5,000 staff, while Argos, now owned by Sainsbury’s, must pay over £480,000 to just over 10,000 workers. Both M&S and Argos attribute their inclusion in the report to a technical payroll error. A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: ‘In 2018, a payroll error affected some Argos store colleagues and drivers dating back to 2012 – before Sainsbury’s acquisition of Argos. We launched an immediate investigation, working alongside HMRC, and rectified the issue at the time. Since then, we have integrated Argos onto Sainsbury’s systems to prevent this from happening again. Since acquiring Argos, we have invested significantly into colleague pay, with the Argos hourly rate now aligned with Sainsbury’s, representing an average increase of 53% over the last 7 years.’ M&S said in a statement: ‘Like many other organizations, M&S is only named in the NMW list because of an unintentional technical issue from over four years ago. This happened simply because temporary colleagues were not paid within the strict time periods specified in the NMW Regulations and was remedied as soon as we became aware of the issue. ‘Our minimum hourly pay has never been below the national minimum wage, it is currently above it, and no colleagues were ever underpaid because of this.’ These three retailers join over 200 businesses named in the DBT report investigating staff being paid less than the national minimum wage between 2017 and 2019. The businesses range from large retailers like WHSmith, M&S, and Argos to small businesses and sole traders.

Factuality Level: 8
Factuality Justification: The article provides accurate information about the companies involved, the amounts they owe in unpaid wages, and the reasons for the underpayments. It also mentions that these three retailers are among over 200 businesses named in the DBT report. The article is not sensationalist or opinionated, and does not include irrelevant details or logical errors.
Noise Level: 4
Noise Justification: The article provides relevant information about companies being ordered to pay unpaid wages to their staff due to technical errors in payroll systems. It also includes statements from the companies explaining the situation and the actions taken to rectify the issues. However, it could benefit from more analysis or discussion of the broader implications of these incidents for labor practices and wage policies.
Financial Relevance: Yes
Financial Markets Impacted: WHSmith, M&S, Argos (owned by Sainsbury’s), and other 200+ businesses named in the report
Financial Rating Justification: The article discusses companies being ordered to pay unpaid wages to their staff due to errors or policies that resulted in underpayment of national minimum wage. This has financial implications for the companies involved, as they must now compensate affected workers and potentially face reputational damage.
Presence Of Extreme Event: No
Nature Of Extreme Event: No
Impact Rating Of The Extreme Event: Minor
Extreme Rating Justification: There is no extreme event mentioned in the text, and the situation described does not meet the criteria for an extreme event as it involves financial issues within companies rather than a major crisis or disaster.

Reported publicly: www.retailsector.co.uk