A CAERPHILLY care provider is one of 92 employers who have been 'named and shamed' by the Government after they failed to pay their workers the National Minimum Wage.

Between them, the 92 companies named owed £1,873,712 in arrears, and cover sectors including hairdressing, social care, hospitality and security services. Since the scheme was introduced in October 2013, 490 employers have been named and shamed, with total arrears of over £3,000,000 and total penalties of over £1,100,000.

Care One 2 One Ltd, based at Pontygwindy Industrial Estate in Caerphilly, failed to pay £2,441 to one employee. The company is a registered privately run domiciliary care agency.

Business Minister Nick Boles said: "As a one nation government on the side of working people we are determined that everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum Wage receives it. There is no excuse for not paying staff the wages they’re entitled to.

"Our policy of naming and shaming employers who ignore the law means there are consequences for their reputation as well as their wallets."

He added: "In April we will introduce a new National Living Wage which will mean a pay rise of over £900-a-year for someone working full time on the minimum wage and we will enforce this equally robustly."

On October 1, 2015, the National Minimum Wage (NMW) rose to £6.70. Employers should be aware of the different rates for the National Minimum Wage depending on the circumstances of their workers.

The 92 cases named today were thoroughly investigated by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

The naming and shaming scheme was revised in October 2013 to make it simpler to name and shame employers that do not comply with minimum wage rules.

TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "Ministers are right to name and shame these companies. Today's list contains many well-known household names and the level of underpayment in some cases is truly eye-watering.

"Now is not the time for complacency, however. We know that thousands more rogue employers are cheating their staff and getting away with it. It is essential that HMRC catches up with them too.

"Bosses who try to duck the minimum wage must have nowhere to hide. Strong unions are needed in every workplace to stop these abuses from happening."

Tim Roache, GMB general secretary elect, said: "If unions were allowed to make complaints and if local councils had powers to investigate them, far more employers would join the list of those named and shamed. Abusing the apprentice rate of £3.30 per hour by using fake training schemes could be rooted out."

Alison Price of Care One 2 One said:

“I was shocked to see my business named by the Government in this report.  The underpayment concerned one member of staff who was paid a flat rate as a “sleeping night assistant”, which we believed at the time was legal and accurate.  However, an internal review of our HR processes identified an issue of underpayment with one employee – as the agreed night rate salary was less than the National Minimum Wage when calculated on an hourly basis.”

“This was a genuine error on my part, not realising that the regulations had changed concerning night workers where they are allowed to sleep.  As soon as we discovered the error we took immediate steps to pay the employee the outstanding wages which was all done within four weeks.  I made every effort to deal with the underpayment when it was bought to my attention, believing genuinely that I had done nothing wrong at the time. “

“This all happened last May 2015 and was resolved quickly by our actions not through enforcement by HMRC so I was shocked and disappointed to see the HMRC using my company as part of a story which gives the impression that we in some way has deliberately withheld wages, which was never the case.”

“All our staff have employment contracts, job descriptions and are paid the National Minimum Wage or at higher rates.”