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Sweet Firm Fined for Minimum Wage Violations
23 Mar
Summary
- A confectionery firm was fined for failing to pay minimum wage.
- Hundreds of workers did not receive their correct minimum wage.
- The company has since rectified all underpayment cases.
Confectionery manufacturer Swizzels Matlow has been ordered to pay almost £20,000 to 437 employees for minimum wage shortfalls. The Department for Business and Trade identified the violations during a routine investigation in 2022. These underpayments occurred when salary sacrifice schemes, such as childcare vouchers and cycle-to-work programs, combined with unpaid time for donning personal protective equipment, inadvertently reduced employee pay below the legal minimum.
Swizzels Matlow stated that all affected cases have since been rectified. The company emphasized that while salaries consistently exceeded the minimum wage previously, these specific deductions caused the issue. Measures have been taken to adjust salaries, and they are committed to paying the real living wage, which has already been achieved for 95% of their workforce. Time spent changing into PPE before shifts is now factored into all employee compensation.
