Several bakery businesses and franchisees of dessert parlour and café brands are among hundreds of firms recently penalised for underpaying workers.
The latest round (round 24) published by the Department for Business & Trade named 658 companies which were found to have failed to pay staff the National Minimum Wage. The government said around £4m has been returned to over 27,000 workers denied pay they were legally owed, whilst penalties totalling £7m had been issued to employers.
In April, the National Minimum Wage was raised to £12.71 per hour for employees ages 21 and above, £10.81 for 18- to 20-year-olds, and £8 for under 18s and apprentices.
Of the companies named in the list that are involved in the baking industry, Aberdeenshire-based Murdoch Allan was calculated as having the biggest total arrears at just over £24k. This was owed to seven workers over a four-and-a-half-year period ending on 27 January 2024.
However, the family-run bakery firm – which supplies major Scottish supermarkets with sweet and savoury bakery items such as butteries, pies, doughnuts and cream cookies as well as operating six of its own shops – stated it had always paid minimum wage or above to its workers. Instead, it said the issue related to a technical breach regarding a subsidised bus service.
“Employees chose to have their contribution for the service deducted directly from their wages rather than bring cash to work,” said Murdoch Allan. “Although their actual rate of pay was not below minimum wage, the deduction meant their pay was calculated as falling below the required level for National Minimum Wage purposes.”
The company, which employs a workforce of around 180 people at its bakery sites in Hatton and Dundee (acquired in 2024) and its retail shops, noted it had been required to reimburse the affected employees, who then paid their bus contributions separately in cash. “A fine was also issued because of this technical breach,” added Murdoch Allan.
Another Scottish bakery manufacturer on the list, Aulds Delicious Desserts in Renfrewshire, was found to owe a little under £9,500 to 89 workers. Two Northeast retail businesses – Milligans Bakery and Davidson of Darras Hall – had arrears totalling around £5,440 and £4,600, respectively. And a pair of London firms – Old Post Office Bakery in Clapham and Maddison’s Bakery in Bexleyheath – owed roughly £1,100 and £840, respectively.
Companies have been contacted for comment.
Meanwhile, certain franchisees of dessert parlour brands including Kaspa’s Desserts, Heavenly Desserts, Little Dessert Shop, Rocco’s Desserts were identified as having employee arrears ranging from around £3,400 down to £1,200. A Leicestershire-based franchisee of Muffin Break outlets owed slightly less than £400 to a single staff member.
The latest naming round was preceded by round 23 back in March, which named Hovis and Costa among 400 firms penalised for underpaying staff. This came before the government set up its Fair Work Agency to bring workers’ rights enforcement under one roof following the recent passing of the Employment Rights Act. Not only is the new body enforcing payment of the minimum wage but it will soon tackle those who break the law by denying holiday and sick pay.
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