THESE are the local businesses which have failed to pay their staff the minimum wage and have been named and shamed by the Government.

Two firms in the Bradford area are on the list, along with major national retailers with sites in the district, and other notable businesses in other areas.

In Bradford, the former boss of the Winston Churchill pub, in Wakefield Road, has been named on the list for failing to pay three staff the minimum wage.

The pub’s former landlady Therese Binns failed to pay £1,774.35 to the three members of staff, the document states.

In Drighlington, Whitehall Hairdressing is also on the list, with owner Emma Hartley failing to pay £12,882.14 to two members of staff, the 15th largest amount on the list of 139 businesses.

Cygnet Health Care Limited, which runs seven care homes in the Bradford district, has also failed to pay £1,249.55 to 15 members of staff.

National firms on the list include Tesco, which owes almost £5.1 million to 78,199 staff, Pizza Hut, which has failed to pay £845,936 to 10,980 workers, and Superdrug, which owes 2,222 staff a total of £15,228.57.

A total of 139 companies have been named and shamed, owing their workers a total of £6.7 million to more than 95,000 workers in total. This is the first time the government has named and shamed companies since 2018.

Business Minister Paul Scully said: “Paying the minimum wage is not optional, it is the law.

“It is never acceptable for any employer to short-change their workers, but it is especially disappointing to see huge household names who absolutely should know better on this list.

“This should serve as a wake-up call to named employers and a reminder to everyone of the importance of paying workers what they are legally entitled to.

“Make no mistake, those who fail to follow minimum wage rules will be caught out and made to pay up.”

Employers who pay workers less than the minimum wage have to pay back arrears of wages to the worker at current minimum wage rates.

They also face hefty financial penalties of up to 200 per cent of arrears - capped at £10,000 per worker - which are paid to the government.

Each of the companies named by the Government have paid back their workers, and were forced to pay financial penalties.

The companies named by the government were served a notice of underpayment between September 2016 and July 2018, following investigations by HMRC.

In total, 139 businesses were included on the list, owing workers a grand total of £6.7 million to more than 95,000 workers.

Ms Binns and the Winston Churchill pub could not be reached for comment by the Telegraph & Argus .

Whitehall Hairdressing in Drighlington was approached by the Telegraph & Argus for comment, but no response was received.

Tesco said it was “disappointed and surprised” to be included in the list, saying the error was a “technical issue” it reported to HM Revenue & Customs itself back in 2017.

Pizza Hut and Superdrug both said the underpayment was related to uniforms and the errors quickly addressed.

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady added: “It’s a national scandal that so many workers, many of whom are key workers, aren’t being paid the minimum wage.”