British Gas, Euro Garages, and Holland & Barrett Fined for Underpaying Workers

Hundreds of UK employers — including British Gas owner Centrica, Euro Garages, and Holland & Barrett — have been fined for failing to pay staff the national minimum wage.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) found nearly 500 companies underpaid 42,000 workers, leading to more than £10 million in fines and £6 million in repayments.

Euro Garages (EG Group) topped the list after short-changing over 3,300 employees by £824,000. The company said the problem came from old payroll errors between 2015 and 2019 and claimed all workers had now been repaid.

Centrica, parent company of British Gas, owed £167,000 to 356 workers due to technical payroll issues and salary sacrifice errors. A spokesperson said the mistakes were small compared to its £1.2 billion annual wage bill and were fixed once identified.

Holland & Barrett failed to pay £153,000 to over 2,500 employees between 2015 and 2021. The company blamed unpaid training, shift prep time, and uniform requirements, insisting it never intentionally underpaid and had resolved the matter in 2022.

Business Secretary Peter Kyle said the fines send a strong message: “Our Plan to Make Work Pay cracks down on those not playing by the rules.”

All the employers on the DBT list faced penalties of up to double the amount owed, with some cases dating back to 2013.

Union leader Paul Nowak from the TUC called the issue “unacceptable,” adding that cheating workers hurts both families and the economy.

Currently, the National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over is £12.21 per hour, while those aged 16 to 20 earn at least £10 per hour.