Tiffany's Hotel statement after 3 Fylde coast businesses named by government for underpaying workers £20k

Three Fylde coast businesses are on a list of over 650 companies named by the Government for underpaying workers.

In total, the businesses included on the new list released by the Fair Work Agency owed wages in excess of £4 million to 27,000 employees, with the Government having named the companies as part of an employment rights crackdown.

Between them, the three Fylde coast businesses failed to pay £20,118.87 to a collective total of 234 workers, with the breakdown as follows:

• Y7 Hotels Limited, trading as Tiffany's Hotel, Blackpool, FY1, failed to pay £11,131.99 to 228 workers.
• Mr Amir Liman, trading as Shkupi Car Wash, Blackpool, FY4, failed to pay £8,715.74 to 3 workers.
• The Fernlea Hotel Limited, trading as The Inn on the Prom, Lytham St Annes, FY8, failed to pay £271.14 to 3 workers.

When approached for comment, Tiffany’s Hotel said: “This relates to a historic payroll error from 2019 and a calculation error that has since been corrected within our automated clocking system. All affected employees have been contacted and reimbursed in full.

“The issue arose following our move from analogue to digital clocking-in. Working time recorded in hours and minutes was mistakenly processed as decimal hours when calculating wages, resulting in unintentional underpayments.

“We apologise to everyone affected by the error.”

When approached for comment, The Inn on the Prom said: “We fully accept that mistakes were made, and as soon as these were identified, the amounts owed were corrected. However, we feel it is important to put the figures into context, as the article does not, in our view, give a fair reflection of our business or how we treat our employees.

“Our annual payroll is just short of £1 million. The investigation looked back over the last three years, meaning that almost £3 million in wages were examined. Across that entire period, the total amount of underpayments identified was £271.14, involving three members of staff.

“We are certainly not trying to suggest that any payroll error is acceptable. Every member of our team deserves to be paid correctly, and we take that responsibility seriously. We are simply asking that these figures are considered in their proper context.

“We are a family-run business, and we work hard every day to look after our staff and to do things properly. Like any business made up of people, however, we are human and occasionally mistakes can happen. What matters to us is that when an error is identified, we put it right — which is exactly what we did in this case.

“To portray our business as one that is routinely or unfairly underpaying its staff is simply not an accurate reflection of who we are or how we operate. We value our employees enormously and remain committed to treating them fairly, paying them correctly and continuing to do our very best for our team.”

‘Determined to stamp it out’

This is the first time individual businesses have been directly named since the Fair Work Agency was set up in April, with the agency forming part of the Department for Business and Trade. The agency aims to ensure that employers comply with the law with regards to how they treat employees.

They have the power to enforce the payment of minimum wage, and are soon to start tackling employers who deny workers’ holiday and sick pay, whilst also offering guidance to employers on how to follow the rules.

“The best businesses know that looking after your workers isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do, building the stronger, more successful businesses that drive growth in every postcode,” said business secretary Jonathan Reynolds.

“Most employers already understand this, and I want to work with them to ensure they have every piece of guidance and support available to help them follow the rules. Short-changing your staff isn’t a shortcut to success and we are determined to stamp it out.”