Minimum Wage
This coverage examines the impact of minimum wage policies on UK retail businesses, with reporting on legislative changes, compliance obligations, cost management, and workforce strategies. Insight focuses on how retailers adapt operations, staffing, and pay structures to meet legal requirements while maintaining commercial performance — supporting executives, HR managers, and owners navigating wage regulation challenges.
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Sep- 2018 -24 SeptemberGovernment
Retail found to have second highest number of underpaid staff
The retail sector was estimated to have the second highest number of staff who were paid less than minimum wage, accounting for 51,300 jobs. This is according to a report by HMRC as part of the government’s investigation and initiative to clampdown on employers underpaying their staff. The hospitality sector had…
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Jul- 2018 -10 JulyGovernment
Home Bargains ‘underpaid staff £272k’
Discount retailer TJ Morris Limited, trading as Home Bargains, has failed to pay the national minimum wage to its staff according to the UK government. Home Bargains appeared second in a government list of nearly 240 employers who had not paid the National Living and Minimum Wage, with the retailer…
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Jun- 2018 -4 JuneOnline & Digital
Amazon faces legal action over alleged ‘bogus’ self-employment
GMB, the trade union for ‘gig economy’ workers, has announced plans to bring legal action against three of Amazon’s delivery companies over what it calls “bogus” self-employment. The action, announced today (4 June) at GMB’s 101st annual congress in Brighton, is on behalf of people working as couriers and delivering…
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May- 2018 -10 MayGovernment
Named and shamed: Underpaid retail staff among 200,000 to receive £15.6m back pay
HMRC has identified £15.6m in pay owed to more than 200,000 of the UK’s lowest paid workers, following an investigation from 2017 to 2018. This was an increase from the £10.9m that was owed to 98,000 workers in the previous year. Earlier this year, Karen Millen, Shoe Zone and bedroom…
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Apr- 2018 -24 AprilHigh Street
650 retail stores have closed in 2018 so far
Nearly 650 retail stores and restaurants have shut or are at risk of closure since the start of 2018. According to analysis by BBC 5 live’s Wake Up to Money Maplin and Toys R Us sites accounted for half of the total closures, as both chains fell into administration on…
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13 AprilHigh Street
Low-skilled jobs rebadged as apprenticeships by firms, says report
Employers are relabelling low-quality, low skilled and and often low-wage roles as ‘apprenticeships’, according to a new report. As part of the Government’s wider package of reforms to apprenticeships, groups of employers have come together to write the new ‘apprenticeship standards’. Some employers have used this opportunity to generate high-quality…
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Mar- 2018 -9 MarchClothing & Shoes
Shoe Zone, Karen Millen ‘named and shamed’ over minimum wage
Karen Millen and Shoe Zone are among the firms that have been ‘named and shamed’ by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) for failing to pay their employees the minimum wage. In a list of 179 companies, Karen Millen failed to pay £9,847.20 to 28 workers while…
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8 MarchClothing & Shoes
Next faces £30m equal pay claim
Law firm Pattinson & Brewer has initiated legal proceedings against clothing chain Next, on behalf of female store workers who it alleges receive less pay than men in comparable roles. The group’s equal pay action will argue that thousands of Next store staff are owed compensation because of unequal pay…
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Feb- 2018 -19 FebruarySport & Leisure
Church of England slams Sports Direct over treatment of staff
The Church of England has criticised Sports Direct founder, Mike Ashley, over his company’s “Victorian factory” working conditions. In a series of letters seen by the Press Association, the Church Commissioners – a group which manages the church’s £79bn investment fund – condemned the retail boss amid a series of…
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