A BOLTON takeaway has been 'named and shamed' by the government for failing to pay a member of staff the minimum wage.

Gonzales, in Albert Road, Farnworth, has been listed by the Government as one of 260 employers which have failed to pay the minimum wage.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said it failed to pay £382.05 to one worker.

Saeed Reahi, the manager of the takeaway blamed the underpayment on an administration error by his accountants. 

In total around the country the Government identified £1.7million in back pay for some of the UK's lowest paid workers and fined employers £1.3million for underpayment.

The companies named failed to pay 16,000 workers at least the minimum wage.

Saeed Reahi, manager of Gonzales, said: "I relied on my accountants to provide the correct payroll information, unfortunately due to an admin error it transpired that a valued member of staff was being underpaid.

"I was shocked and disappointed to learn about this. Once I was made aware I decided to appoint a more experienced firm of accountants namely SND Accountants; who have been more focused on meeting my statutory obligations.

"I apologise for the admin error and I hope my customers understand it was just an oversight."

Primark Stores Limited and Sportsdirect.com, companies which both have stores in Bolton town centre, failed to pay members of staff hundreds of thousands of pounds in earnings.

Primark failed to pay £231,973.12 to 9735 workers and SportsDirect.com failed to pay £167,036.24 to 383 workers.

Also included on the list is Advanced Building (NW) Ltd, a company listed in the M28 area of Salford.

However, Companies House has the business listed at Lee Lane in Horwich.

It is named because it failed to pay £2,027.04 to one worker.

Common reasons for not paying the minimum wage include failing to pay workers travelling between jobs, deducting money from pay for uniforms and not paying for overtime.

Business Minister Margot James said: "There is no excuse for not paying staff the wages they’re entitled to and the government will come down hard on businesses that break the rules.

"That’s why today we are naming hundreds of employers who have been short changing their workers; and to ensure there are consequences for their wallets as well as their reputation, we’ve levied millions in back pay and fines."

If a worker is concerned they are not being paid the correct rates they can see advice from workplace experts Acas.

Since 2013, the scheme has identified £8million in back pay for 58,000 workers, 1,500 employers fined a total of £5million.

This year the government will spend a record £25.3million on minimum wage enforcement.

Rates will rise again in April 2018, giving young workers in particular the biggest pay boost in a decade.

Bryan Sanderson, Chairman of the Low Pay Commission, said: "The Low Pay Commission’s conversations with employers suggest that the risk of being named is encouraging businesses to focus on compliance.

"Further, it is good to see that HMRC continues to target large employers who have underpaid a large number of workers, as well as cases involving only a few workers, where workers are at risk of the most serious exploitation. It is imperative that the government keeps up the pressure on all employers who commit breaches of minimum wage law."