Minimum wage: Government releases list of 70 employers that together owe more than £150,000

Business Minister Jo Swinson said to pay less than the minimum wage is "illegal, immoral and completely unacceptable"

The national minimum wage is set to rise by 3 per cent from £6.50 to £6.70 an hour in October (PA)

The British government has published a list of the 70 employers that have failed to pay the National Minimum Wage.

As part of a strategy Business Minister Jo Swinson called "naming and shaming", the Department of Business revealed that these companies and organisations collectively owed workers a total of £157,000 — and have already been penalised to the tune of £70,000.

The government has now outed a total of 162 minimum wage offenders following its publication of 92 employers in October 2013.

Those companies had accrued arrears of £316,000 and penalties of £111,000.

East Midlands Crossroads, a care centre in Nottingham, owes its employees the greatest sum: £37,592.

The spokeswoman said: "The legislation is complex, in parts ambiguous, and open to interpretation."

Jo Swinson said "Paying less than the minimum wage is illegal, immoral and completely unacceptable.

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Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb said this information was "just the tip of the iceberg in the care sector" and said the government will "continue to name, shame and fine these employers until every care provider gets the message".

What is the National Minimum Wage?

Adult rate: £6.50 per hour

18 to 20 year olds: £5.13 per hour

16 to 17 year olds: £3.79 per hour

Apprentice rate: £2.73 per hour