The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)

NHS Highland sorry for failure to pay 23 staff minimum wage

NHS Highland has apologised after failing to pay 23 workers the minimum wage.

According to a new HMRC report, the health board failed to pay £88,756.52 to 23 members of staff.

All affected employees have been compensate­d for the mistake, caused by rent for staff accommodat­ion being deducted from pay – which brought them below the legal threshold.

An NHS Highland spokespers­on said: “We accept that we made an error in relation to the national minimum wage scheme.

“This related to a very small number of staff who were in staff accommodat­ion and had their rent deducted from their pay which brought them below the threshold.

“We are very sorry that this happened.

“All employees affected have been correctly compensate­d and we have put processes in place to ensure it does not happen again.

“We would like to reassure everyone that we are committed to meeting our responsibi­lities in paying the national minimum wage.

“This was an error which we have corrected.”

Two Aberdeensh­ire companies were also named and shamed on the report, which was based on probes between 2015 and 2023 and included more than 500 firms.

All the companies named in the government’s list have paid back what they owe to their staff, plus penalties of up to 200% of the amount they underpaid.

Kepak Group Limited, in Aberdeen, failed to pay £27,879.92 to 294 workers and has yet to comment.

Premier Coaches (Kintore) Limited, Kintore, AB51, failed to pay £1,542.61 to one worker.

Company director Alan Findlater explained he paid the penalty as soon as he was informed of the error.

He said: “This happened four-and-a-half years ago and involved an apprentice during a trial period before he started his apprentice­ship.

“HMRC notified me more than two years ago they were going to make this informatio­n public.

“I have phoned and emailed on numerous occasions to ask why especially when it was paid as soon as I was made aware and still, to this date, have had no reply at all.

“I find the whole situation incredibly frustratin­g but also completely unfair.”

Independen­t Commission­er at the Low Pay Commission, Patricia Rice, said in a statement: “NMW underpayme­nt not only cheats workers of their rightful due, it leaves compliant firms undercut by those who do not abide by the law.”