Minimum wage worker underpaid by £24,000
By Rebecca Maer
A worker was underpaid by nearly £24,000 over five years by an Eastbourne company, Government figures show.
It is the largest amount any firm owed a single minimum wage worker on the list released this month.
Whiteline Manufacturing Ltd, which is based in Hawthorn Road and makes windows and doors, underpaid the worker the minimum wage by £23,870 between November 2018 and June 2024.
The company said in a statement to the Eastbourne Reporter that it was due to “an administrative oversight”.
The figures came to light in the Government’s latest list of employers who have underpaid workers. This was the 24th 'naming round' of the National Minimum Wage Naming Scheme.
Around 660 employers across the country were named for failing to pay staff the National Minimum Wage (NMW), with £4 million returned directly to workers. The national minimum hourly wage for workers aged 21 and over is currently £12.71.
In addition to Whiteline, two other Eastbourne businesses featured in the list: Prime Recruitment Limited employment agency, now in liquidation, underpaid 185 workers.
And the Lansdowne Hotel was listed as underpaying 13 people, which it said was due to the way legitimate deductions had affected the hourly rate calculation.
What Whiteline Manufacturing said
The Eastbourne Reporter asked Whiteline when the worker was paid the money which was owed to them and how did one person from more than 160 staff end up being underpaid such a large amount.
Whiteline managing director Louise Evans told us in a statement: “The failure to comply with minimum wage legislation occurred as a result of an administrative oversight regarding a historic pay arrangement for one single individual.
“As a company, Whiteline failed to notice that these terms and conditions had become non-compliant as minimum wages increased. Once the matter was recognised, it was immediately rectified and appropriate checks put in place to ensure ongoing compliance.
“Whiteline takes minimum wage legislation extremely seriously and regards it as a vital and positive way of supporting living standards in society. Our company is proud to invest in our people by paying every team member above the minimum wage, and is unwavering in its commitment to offering opportunities to develop skills and meaningful careers within our group.”
Prime Recruitment in liquidation
Prime Recruitment employment agency also featured high on the national list at 12 out of 660 firms in terms of the total owed.
It underpaid 185 workers a total of £40,625 over a period of three years until September 2024. That amounted to a shortfall of £219.60 each.
The company went into liquidation in December 2025, according to papers filed at Companies House.
The liquidator’s statement shows a total deficit of £458,000. This includes £119,660 of debt for HMRC National Minimum Wage compliance. It is not clear if the workers were paid what they were owed.
What the Lansdowne Hotel said
The Lansdowne Hotel was the third Eastbourne business listed. It underpaid £1,816 to 13 minimum wage workers over a three-year period until May 2024, equating to around £140 each. Catherine Clifford and Edward Lewis are named in the Government list as the employers.
Mrs Clifford is chair of the Eastbourne Hospitality Association (EHA) and a member of the Eastbourne Neighbourhood Board.
We asked Mrs Clifford for a comment and how she reconciled these high-profile positions with being named in a Government list of companies underpaying staff.
Mrs Clifford told the Eastbourne Reporter the underpayment arose from the way legitimate adjustments to pay affected the minimum wage calculation rather than due to the hourly rate.
“After more than 114 years as a family-owned Eastbourne business, our reputation as a responsible employer is enormously important to us," she said.
“We take our responsibilities to our employees extremely seriously and we are VERY disappointed to have been included in the Government’s National Minimum Wage naming scheme without the circumstances behind the findings being made clear.”
Mrs Clifford added: “Importantly, the employees concerned were paid hourly rates at or above the applicable National Minimum Wage. The underpayment identified arose from the effect of deductions and adjustments to employees’ pay rather than from the hourly rates we paid.
“There were two circumstances involved, firstly during periods of sickness, reductions or deductions in pay resulted in the pay of some employees falling below the National Minimum Wage threshold for the relevant pay period."
“This government list is VERY misleading and we should not have been on there"
Catherine Clifford
Mrs Clifford explained further: “Separately, for some employees who live at the hotel, deductions are made for staff accommodation. The application of the specific National Minimum Wage rules governing accommodation deductions resulted in their pay being treated as falling below the required minimum for NMW purposes.
“We have provided live-in accommodation for members of our team for more than 30 years. We provide good quality accommodation which includes household bills, food and broadband, at a cost significantly below comparable private accommodation locally. For some members of our team, this provides an affordable housing option at a time when the cost of privately renting and paying household bills is increasingly high.
“We are particularly proud of the long-standing relationships we have with our employees and our low staff turnover.
“We co-operated fully with the investigation, the amounts identified have been addressed, and our payroll procedures have been reviewed and updated to ensure these circumstances are identified and corrected in the future.”
Mrs Clifford said the Lansdowne fully supported the national minimum wage and the protection it provides to employees.
She added: “Yes, I am on the Neighbourhood Board and also the EHA and I take these responsibilities very seriously. I believe the Lansdowne has an extremely good reputation as an employer in the town and it will continue to do so.
“This government list is VERY misleading and we should not have been on there as we DO pay NMW and above in some cases and that is the key point here!”
Thousands underpaid in the South East
In south-east England, around 6,300 workers were found to be owed £1.1 million after being underpaid by employers, with penalties totalling around £1.9 million issued to the employers responsible.
The Government said that since launching the ‘naming rounds’ in 2011, more than £100 million in penalties have been issued to over 5,200 employers, leading to over £66 million being repaid to 650,000 workers.
This was the first ‘naming round’ since the Fair Work Agency was set up in April. This new body was formed through the Employment Rights Act to bring workers’ rights enforcement together.
What does the minister say?
Kate Dearden, minister for the Future of Work, said: “Underpaying your staff is illegal, and we will not let workers foot the bill for their boss failing to follow the rules.
“We’re making sure workers get the hard-earned pay they deserve, and where employers fall short, they will be held to account.
“Every employer should check their payroll now and reach out to Acas if they need further support.”
:: If workers think they are being underpaid, they can visit gov.uk/checkyourpay to find out what they can do. Workers and employers can visit the Government website for links for free, impartial and confidential advice.
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