Between them, the companies named owe workers over £162,000 in arrears, and span sectors including fashion, publishing, hospitality, health and fitness, automotive, care, and retail.

This latest round brings the total number of companies named and shamed under the new regime to 210 employers, with total arrears of over £635,000 and total penalties of over £248,000.

Business Minister Jo Swinson said:

There’s no excuse for companies that don’t pay staff the wages they’re entitled to – whether by wilfully breaking the law, or making irresponsible mistakes. The government is protecting workers by cracking down on employers who ignore minimum wage rules. In addition to naming and shaming, we’ve increased the penalty fines and boosted the resources available to investigate non-compliance.

The 48 employers named today (24 March 2015) are:

G1 Venues Ltd, trading as Arta Restaurant, Glasgow, neglected to pay £45,124.00 to 2895 workers

The Clothing Works Ltd (ceased trading), Corby, neglected to pay £17,007.08 to 38 workers

Freedom Sportsline Ltd, trading as Foot Locker, London, neglected to pay £16,718.25 to 601 workers

French Connection UK Ltd, London, neglected to pay £16,436.05 to 367 workers

Minara Enterprises Ltd, trading as Fakenham Tandoori, Fakenham, neglected to pay £11,696.47 to 1 worker

Sharon Makin, trading as Clever Clowns Day Nursery, Manchester, neglected to pay £10,572.08 to 6 workers

UK Gaming Computers Ltd, Colchester, neglected to pay £6,036.99 to 2 workers

Sarah Sloane and David Sloane, trading as Hawes Side Nursery, Blackpool, neglected to pay £2,825.58 to 3 workers

Weston Hire Services Ltd, Weston-super-Mare, neglected to pay £2,819.79 to 1 worker

Miss C Glendon & Miss S Glendon, trading as Ciara’s Tots Day Nursery, Manchester, neglected to pay £2,549.23 to 1 worker

Florence Opportunities Ltd, trading as Morgan Edward Hair & Beauty, Carmarthen, neglected to pay £2,201.99 to 1 worker

Champneys Springs Ltd, Swadlincote, neglected to pay £1,950 to 5 workers

H M Bodyshop Ltd, Colindale, London, neglected to pay £1944.83 to 1 worker

David Hayton Ltd, Penrith, neglected to pay £1,865.48 to 1 worker

Caledonian Leisure Sales Ltd, trading as Hurleys Operations, Birmingham, neglected to pay £1,628.63 to 1 worker

The Bell at Skenfrith Ltd, Skenfrith, neglected to pay £1,619.36 to 1 worker

Miss Kerris Dunne, Mr Frederick Dunne, and Mrs Alison Ashforth, trading as Aerobrights, Stafford, neglected to pay £1,529.82 to 6 workers

Mortgages First Ltd, Colchester, neglected to pay £1,475.63 to 3 workers

Fullworks (Ayrshire) Ltd, trading as The Full Works, Irvine, neglected to pay £1,362.76 to 2 workers

Crazy Divas Ltd, trading as Divas, Colchester, neglected to pay £1,316.74 to 4 workers

Glenview Development Partners Ltd, Tullibody, neglected to pay £1,150.42 to 1 worker

Toni & Guy (Wilmslow) Ltd, Wilmslow, neglected to pay £1,031.12 to 1 worker

Vertu Motors Plc, trading as Bristol Street Motors, Gateshead, neglected to pay £1,001.42 to 1 worker

PNP Media Ltd, trading as EBS Marketing, Manchester, neglected to pay £981.06 to 2 workers

Mr Trevor Trutwein, trading as Ambitions 2, Gillingham, neglected to pay £903.32 to 1 worker

Mr Anthony Miller, trading as Sportline Car Sales, Coalville, neglected to pay £779.70 to 2 workers

The Conde Nast Publications, London, neglected to pay £745.48 to 1 worker

Mr Yong Zhang, trading as Dragon Cottage Chinese Takeaway, Loughborough, neglected to pay £711.80 to 1 worker

99p Stores Ltd, Northampton, neglected to pay £633.39 to 11 workers

Mr M & Mrs M Hargreaves, trading as Little Windrush, Solihull, neglected to pay £631.51 to 3 workers

Azad & Sons Ltd, trading as Pizza Hut, Norwich, neglected to pay £622.58 to 23 workers

The Bull’s Head (Inkberrow) Ltd, trading as The Bull’s Head Inn, Worcester, neglected to pay £580.95 to 3 workers

Glyn Harding, trading as GCH Transport, Frome, neglected to pay £485.87 to 1 worker

Mrs Yoko Banks, trading as Ashley House Hotel, Harrogate, neglected to pay £405.07 to 1 worker

Mr Daniel Smith, trading as Smith’s Hair, Braintree, neglected to pay £385.86 to 1 worker

Pharmacy 1st Ltd, Gillingham, neglected to pay £363.55 to 1 worker

Ms Sonia Duncton, trading as The Three Compasses Public House, Alford, neglected to pay £344.72 to 3 workers

Mrs Geraldine Kelly, trading as New Hope Creche, Enniskillen, neglected to pay £344.30 to 11 workers

Bounty (UK) Ltd, Welwyn Garden City, neglected to pay £284.26 to 1 worker

Golden Phoenix Inns Ltd, trading as The Crown Inn, Bristol, neglected to pay £284.01 to 1 worker

The Widd Group Ltd, trading as Widd Signs, Leeds, neglected to pay £253.50 to 1 worker

Mr Garry Evis, trading as Woodside MOT and Service Centre, Middlesbrough, neglected to pay £232.55 to 1 worker

Mr Keith J Pygall, trading Pygall Coaches, Peterlee, neglected to pay £198.34 to 1 worker

Ranc Care Homes Ltd, trading as Maidstone Care Centre, Ilford, neglected to pay £178.76 to 1 worker

Call & Deliver Ltd, trading as Pizza Hut, Heckmondwike, neglected to pay £163.45 to 9 workers

Mr Fernando Rocha, trading as A Tasca, Ely, neglected to pay £152.28 to 1 worker

Winners 2000 Fitness Ltd, Torquay, neglected to pay £130.78 to 1 worker

Central Electrical Ltd, Chesterfield, neglected to pay £130.28 to 1 worker

The 48 cases named today were thoroughly investigated by HM Revenue and Customs ( HMRC ).

The scheme was revised in October 2013 to make it simpler to name and shame employers that do not comply with minimum wage rules.

If you have any questions about the National Minimum Wage ( NMW ) as a worker or as an employer please call Acas on 0300 123 1100.

Notes to editors

1.Employers have a duty to be aware of the different legal rates for the National Minimum Wage.

The current National Minimum Wage rates are:

adult rate (21 years and over) - £6.50 per hour

18 to 20-year olds - £5.13 per hour

16 to 17-year olds - £3.79 per hour

apprentice rate - £2.73 per hour

The apprentice rate applies to apprentices aged 16 to 18 years and those aged 19 years and over who are in their first year. All other apprentices are entitled to the National Minimum Wage rate for their age.

2.The government is committed to increasing compliance with minimum wage legislation and effective enforcement of it. Everyone who is entitled to the minimum wage should receive it. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills ( BIS ) scheme to name employers who break minimum wage law came into effect on 1 January 2011. The scheme is one of a range of tools at the government’s disposal to tackle this issue. Employers who pay workers less than the minimum wage not only have to pay back arrears of wages at current minimum wage rates but also face financial penalties of up to £20,000. In the most serious cases employers can be prosecuted.

3.From 1 October 2013 the government revised the naming scheme to make it simpler to name and shame employers who break the law. Under this scheme the government will name all employers that have been issued with a Notice of Underpayment ( NoU ) unless employers meet one of the exceptional criteria or have arrears of £100 or less. All 48 cases named today failed to pay the National Minimum Wage and have arrears of over £100.

4.Employers have 28 days to appeal to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs ( HMRC ) against the NoU (this notice sets out the owed wages to be paid by the employer together with the penalty for not complying with minimum wage law). If the employer does not appeal or unsuccessfully appeals against this NoU , BIS will consider them for naming. The employer then has 14 days to make representations to BIS outlining whether they meet any of the exceptional criteria:

naming by BIS carries a risk of personal harm to an individual or their family

carries a risk of personal harm to an individual or their family there are national security risks associated with naming in this instance

other factors which suggest that it would not be in the public interest to name the employer (employer to provide details)

If BIS does not receive any representations or the representations received are unsuccessful, the employer will be named via a BIS press release under this scheme.