Indian-origin hotelier 'named and shamed' in Britain

In its crackdown on minimum wage violations, the British government Sunday 'named and shamed' an Indian-origin family duo, along with 24 other employers, who failed to pay their staff the national minimum wage, a media report said.

Satwinder Singh Khatter and Tejinder Singh Khatter, owner of The Bath Hotel in Reading in Britain's Berkshire, neglected to pay 1,237.79 pounds (around $2081) to two of its workers, Evening Standard reported Sunday.

A total of 25 employers were named, including a hire company, a hairdressers, a hotel and a retail outlet.

Between them, they owe workers more than 43,000 pounds in arrears, and face fines totalling over 21,000 pounds, the report said.

It is the biggest number of employers publicly named since last year.

The Government also plans to increase fines, so that an employer underpaying 10 workers could face penalties of up to 200,000 pounds.

The national minimum wage in Britain is currently 6.31 pounds an hour for adults and will be raised to 6.50 pounds from October.

Jenny Willott, Liberal Democrat MP and business minister, said: "Paying less than the minimum wage is not only wrong, it's illegal. If employers break the law they need to know that they will face tough consequences."

"Any worker who is entitled to the minimum wage should receive it. If anyone suspects they are not being paid the wage they are legally entitled to they should call the Pay and Work Rights helpline on 0800 917 2368," Willott added.

The Government earlier this year introduced a series of tougher measures to crack down on employers who break National Minimum Wage law.

All the employers named in the list were investigated by HM Revenue & Customs after workers made complaints to the free and confidential Pay and Work Rights help line.