Businesses in Norfolk have been named and shamed for paying employees less than minimum wage, with more than £13,000 owed to staff by local companies.
A list compiled by HMRC identified all UK employers who failed to pay their staff the national minimum wage, which is currently £10.42 an hour, with three Norfolk firms featuring.
The worst offender was Elite Recruitment Agency, formerly-based in Norwich, which underpaid one member of staff by a total of £10,554 between July 2015 and October 2018.
The company - which was dissolved in 2019 - has since paid the money owed to the worker.
It was also fined a penalty charge of £10,000 by HMRC, according to Companies House.
The firm's former directors have been approached for comment.
READ MORE: Living wage increase to benefit around 1.7 million workers
Also named on the list was Bendart Limited, trading as Blackwell Print in Great Yarmouth, which underpaid two workers by a total of £1,585 between May and November 2018.
The firm was acquired by new owners earlier this year, who said they had no knowledge of the previous issues, and added: "We currently are a National Living Wage Employer and want to grow and expand the business in the town, helping to put Great Yarmouth on the map."
A third company, North Norfolk Hospitality Limited, trading as The Cliftonville Hotel in Cromer, was also found to have underpaid workers.
Three people were owed a total of £908.
Workers have since been back paid the missing wages and the company that owned the hotel at the time employees were underpaid has been dissolved.
The venue’s new owners, City Pub Group, said it is aware of the failings of the hotel’s previous owners, which took place in a three-year period between 2015 and 2018.
A City Pub Group spokesperson said: “The matter brought to our attention today precedes our ownership by almost three years. As such we have no knowledge of the details involved.”
Of the 202 businesses included in the list, 39pc of employers deducted pay from workers’ wages.
Another 39pc of employers failed to pay workers correctly for their working time, and 21pc paid the incorrect apprenticeship rate.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here