Equestrian businesses among those investigated for wage breaches

The Government has announced that more than 500 companies had underpaid their staff

- ELEANOR JONES

THE investigation of equestrian businesses among those that had fallen foul of national minimum wage (NMW) legislation is an important reminder of the law.

Five equestrian employers were included in a list published by the Government, of more than 500 businesses that had been found to have breached the law. The businesses have since paid back what they owed to staff, and faced financial penalties of up to 200% of their underpayments. The HMRC investigations concluded between 2015 and 2023.

Kevin Hollinrake, minister for enterprise, markets and small business, said employees deserve to "get paid properly for the hard work they put in".

"While the majority of businesses already do the right thing and pay their staff what they are owed, today's announcement sends a message to the minority who don't - there are repercussions to undercutting hard work from their staff," he said.

The Government acknowledged that not all underpayment is intentional, with which equestrian business advisor Claire King agrees.