Tesco has said it will reimburse 140,000 current and former staff, because it failed to pay them the national living wage.
The mistake is expected to cost the supermarket giant £9.7million after errors saw them miss out on money they were due.
“As
soon as our own review identified this issue we took immediate action
to resolve it and establish which colleagues are affected," UK chief
executive Matt Davies said.
“We’ve apologised to our colleagues
and our priority now is to talk to them about how this affects them
individually, and make any necessary payments."
(Photo: Getty) Tesco spotted the mistake after introducing a new payroll
system. All UK staff's pay was checked for the past six years as part of
their review.
It noticed that staff who had made voluntary
contributions for things such as childcare vouchers, pensions and cycle
to work schemes, might have missed out.
As as result, their pay didn't reach the level of the national living wage.
Next steps
Some staff missed out on money they were due (Photo: Getty) Tesco said it was is in the process of contacting affected
staff and that they will all receive their reimbursement payments by the
end of March.
It added it would be contacting former colleagues to arrange payments too.
"We expect payments to be up to £40 for the majority of affected colleagues,” Davies said.
The minimum wage: Your rights
Tesco fessed up as soon as it noticed, your employer might not (Photo: Getty Images) Bosses are currently legally required to pay workers the
following rates: £7.20 (£7.50 from 6 April 2017) if you're over 25,
£6.95 if you're over 21, £5.55 if you're 18-21 and £4 if you're under
18. You can find out the full wage rules here .
If
you’re working in a low-paid job, you can sometimes feel like your
rights only exist on paper. But there are ways you can make sure your
boss doesn’t wriggle out of his or her obligations.
“It is
completely unacceptable for any worker to be underpaid and everybody
should check their pay ahead of the national minimum and living wages
rising on 1 April," said Business Minister Margot James.
"Any worker who believes they may have been short-changed should contact Acas, the independent employment advice service."
I think I'm being unfairly paid - what should I do?
(Photo: Getty) If you believe you're being underpaid, you should seek
advice on the matter as soon as possible. You can find out what your
entitlement is using the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service's [Acas] Helpline Online tool.
Acas is a free body that provides information and advice to employers and employees on employment law.
If you find you are being unfairly paid, it is advised that you talk to your employer first, and try to resolve the issue.
If this doesn't work, you are within your rights to make a formal grievance to your employer.
Alternatively, Acas says a worker can make a complaint to HMRC who will investigate the complaint.
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