B&Q and Five Guys among firms that paid staff below minimum wage

Image source, Getty ImagesByEmer MoreauBusiness reporterPublished4 hours agoDIY store B&Q and the fast food chain Five Guys are among hundreds of UK businesses named by the government for paying staff below the minimum wage.

More than 600 employers were ordered to pay affected workers the outstanding wages, with £4m returned to workers, according to the Department for Business and Trade.

B&Q said the underpayments were unintentional and the result of calculations involving geographical allowances, while Five Guys blamed "technical differences in how payroll regulations were applied".

The list of 658 businesses includes shops, restaurants, nurseries, social care providers and a handful of NHS trusts. The government did not say over what time period the underpayments spanned.

Minimum wage is £12.71 for staff aged 21 and over. For 18 to 20 year olds the rate is £10.85, and for under 18s and apprentices it is £8.

B&Q underpaid 4,530 workers a total of more than £456,000, according to the government.

B&Q said in response: "The shortfalls in payments were unintentional. They relate to calculations involving geographical allowances which are paid in addition to minimum hourly rates. All affected colleagues were quickly paid in full in July 2025."

Five Guys, named in the list as owing over £54,000 to 3,699 staff, said "technical differences in how payroll regulations were applied" led to its underpayments, which were identified in a review by the HMRC, the UK's revenue and tax authority.

"We worked closely and transparently with HMRC throughout the process and have made all required payments to affected current and former employees," the company said.

St George's, Epsom and St Helier Hospital Group failed to pay over £123,000 to 75 workers, according to the list, which also says St George's University Hospitals in Wandsworth, London, underpaid 55 workers.

A spokesman for the two hospital trusts said that "no colleagues were underpaid".

"This relates to a technical compliance issue where part of their salary for a non tax-deductable 'salary sacrifice' (for example, towards childcare) was not counted towards the national minimum wage, even though their gross salary was above the national minimum wage," he said.