One in three cases of failure to pay the minimum wage by a retailer now occurs in convenience stores, according to new statistics released by the Government.

The number of local shop owners being named and shamed in the Department for Business’ list of under payers has more than doubled since February, and now accounts for 5% of all cases released.

Business minister Margot James said:  “There is no excuse for not paying staff the wages they’re entitled to and the Government will come down hard on businesses that break the rules.”

The Government said the retail, hospitality and hairdressing sectors were the worst offenders, and that common reasons for pay errors included “deducting money from pay for uniforms and not paying for overtime".

This year’s list of independent food stores that broke their wage obligations included large chain forecourt operators, small newsagents, large format independent supermarkets, symbol group stores and even a multiple-owned site.

Retailers named previously told Retail Express that accounting errors were the largest cause of the problems. These included wrongly logging working hours and failure to upgrade pay when workers move into a higher-paid age bracket.

The national minimum wage is set to rise again in April, by 4.4% from £7.50 to £7.83 per hour. There are also larger percentage increases for younger staff.

Do it: Don’t get caught out, see the upcoming minimum wage increases for each age group here