Image copyright Purestock Image caption The National Living Wage rate is currently £7.20 for workers aged 25 and over

Seventeen Northern Ireland businesses - including a recruitment agency - have been "named and shamed" for underpaying workers.

They are among hundreds of employers recently fined by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

The government said the list of 360 employers from across the UK "is the largest ever" record of companies that broke regulations on the national minimum or living wage.

It includes the retail giant Debenhams.

According to HMRC, the hairdressing, hospitality and retail sectors are "the most prolific offenders".

As well as recovering the arrears for workers, HMRC issues penalties to the offending businesses.

Image copyright Thinkstock Image caption HMRC said the hairdressing, hospitality and retail sectors were "the most prolific offenders"

A firm based in Portadown - WH Recruitment Limited - topped the list of Northern Ireland businesses which were fined. It failed to pay 143 workers a combined total of £26,418.

A spokesman for WH Recruitment told the BBC: "We are a registered agency and put our hands up. This was to do with the accommodation offset regulation."

BC Plant Limited, another of the companies fined by HMRC, told the BBC the discrepancy in payments was due to the difference in the overtime rates for apprentices and other employees: "The oversight concerned overtime payments to apprentices which were paid at a rate of time and a half of the minimum apprentice rate as opposed to time and a half of national minimum wage. This was an oversight and all employees involved were reimbursed immediately once the error came to light."

The National Living Wage rate is currently £7.20 for workers aged 25 and over.

The full list of Northern Ireland employers fined by HMRC is: