A PLYMOUTH hair salon says an administrative error is to blame after it was "named and shamed" as having paid workers below the minimum wage.
More than 100 employers who have failed to pay their workers the National Minimum Wage were revealed by the government in an announcement by business minister Nick Boles last week.
Award-winning salon March Hair, on New George Street, reportedly underpaid two employees by £1,590.98 during the 2012/2013 tax year.
Owner Tanya Bader explained that there were two 18-year-old apprentices on her payroll in 2012. The pair turned 19 during that tax year, entitling them to a pay increase.
Tanya was made aware of this midway through the year and thought she had rectified the situation by overpaying the workers for the second half.
Between April 2012 and December 2012, the pair were underpaid £1,590.98.
However Tanya thought she made up for this by overpaying the workers by £1217.95 during the period December 2012 to April 2013.
"When it was brought to my attention, I called the HM Revenues and Customs (HMRC) helpline to say that I would overpay them to rectify what was nothing more than a human error," said Tanya, 58.
"After that, I had not made the changes clear on the payroll despite increasing their pay so as far as HMRC knew I was still underpaying the apprentices.
"At the end of tax year they had been overpaid so I thought there would be no problems, but because it was not detailed correctly HMRC didn't except it."
They were due to receive £2642.95 between them but they actually received £3860.90.
They were then overpaid again in October 2013 by £1048.83.
Tanya says this sort of circumstance "doesn't help businesses" and is "unfair" when it has been resolved with nobody losing out.
"When one makes a mistake you should not be named and shamed," she added. "You should be reprimanded and fined. I have been penalised twice.
"I am not a serial under-payer. My staff are on wage packets that would be common in London."
Business minister Nick Boles said: "Employers that fail to pay the minimum wage hurt the living standards of the lowest paid and their families.
"As a one nation government on the side of working people we are determined that everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum Wage receives it.
"Next April, we will introduce a new National Living Wage which will mean a £900-a-year pay rise for someone working full time on the minimum wage and we will enforce this equally robustly."
On October 1, 2015, the National Minimum Wage (NMW) rose to £6.70. Employers should be aware of the different rates for the National Minimum Wage depending on the circumstances of their workers.
To improve compliance in the hairdressing sector HMRC has launched a NMW campaign to drive voluntary behavioural change. The campaign is an opportunity for employers to check they are paying their employees correctly and ensure any outstanding arrears are paid back to employees.