Topic Lifecycle: Dormant
This topic is currently dormant in the news cycle. It was last covered on Thursday 3 September 2026 and has not appeared in recent broadcasts.
Coverage trend (last 30 days)
How much coverage this topic got from each channel over the past month.
On screen
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Recent stories
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What was reported
A plain summary of this topic, built from the channels that covered it.
On 3 September 2026, UK news channels reported that the government's new Fair Work Agency had published a list of more than 600 employers accused of underpaying staff below the national minimum wage. The list included major retailers, restaurants, NHS trusts, and care homes. Among the named companies were B&Q, which underpaid over 4,500 workers a total of more than £450,000, and Five Guys, which owed about £54,000 to nearly 3,700 staff. ITV also reported that Elysium Healthcare Holding Limited failed to pay over £330,000 to more than 1,000 workers. The channels said that around £4 million had been repaid to workers, with BBC giving the figure of 27,000 workers, and that penalties totalling about £7 million had been issued. B&Q said the underpayment was unintentional and related to allowance calculations, while Five Guys cited technical differences in payroll regulations. Elysium apologised and called it an unintentional calculation error. The government warned that this was the first of such lists and that the agency would also check holiday and sick pay.
Key Claims by Channel
| Claim | BBC One | ITV |
|---|---|---|
| The government named over 600 employers for underpaying staff below the national minimum wage, including B&Q, with about £4 million repaid and £7 million in penalties. | ||
| The list of named employers included B&Q, Five Guys, NHS trusts, and other retailers and restaurants. | ||
| B&Q underpaid over 4,500 workers a total of more than £450,000. | · | |
| Five Guys owed about £54,000 to almost 3,700 staff. | · | |
| Elysium Healthcare Holding Limited failed to pay over £330,000 to more than 1,000 workers. | · | |
| Around £4 million had been paid back to 27,000 workers. | ||
| Penalties totalling about £7 million were issued. | ||
| B&Q said the underpayment was unintentional and related to allowance calculations. | ||
| Five Guys said it had worked closely with HMRC after technical differences in how payroll regulations were applied. | · | |
| Elysium apologised and said the shortfalls were an unintentional calculation error. | · | |
| The government warned this was the first of these lists and the agency would also check holiday and sick pay. | · |
This is a cross-channel consensus summary, not an objective account. Consensus can be uniformly wrong, or omit what only one channel covered.
Timeline
Where this topic appeared. Cells show coverage time and are darker when there was more coverage.