A IRVINE hairdresser has fallen foul of the taxman after failing to pay two employees the minimum wage after making an ‘oversight’ in his books.

The Full Works in High Street was ‘named and shamed’ by HM Revenue and Customs as one of 48 companies who have not paid workers the full National Minimum Wage.

Documents released by HMRC this week state that Fullworks (Ayrshire) Ltd, trading as The Full Works, Irvine, neglected to pay £1,362.76 to two employees.

But the business’s owner, Ian McKenzie, told the Times he feels ‘hard done by’ and claims the situation was simply ‘an oversight’ on his part.

He claims: “The first case related to an employee who I had kept on after I was supposed to have let her go. It was just before Christmas so I kept her on for almost three months as a trainee because I felt guilty that she would be out of a job at that time of year. It was an oversight. I should have been paying her the next rate up but because of the circumstances, I didn’t think about it.

“After that the taxman came and checked all my paper work and there had been a lapse on another employee of only one month, after she had turned 18. She had left the company and has since come back so there is no hard feelings because it wasn’t deliberate. I have since reimbursed both employees for the money they should have received.

“I have been in business for 18 years, you don’t get to do that if you are trying to cheat the taxman. It’s all just been a misunderstanding.” An investigation by HMRC found that between them, the 48 companies across the UK owe workers over £162,000 in arrears, and span sectors including fashion, publishing, hospitality, health and fitness, automotive, care, and retail.

This latest round brings the total number of companies named and shamed under the new regime to 210 employers, with total arrears of over £635,000 and total penalties of over £248,000.

Business Minister Jo Swinson said: “There’s no excuse for companies that don’t pay staff the wages they’re entitled to – whether by wilfully breaking the law, or making irresponsible mistakes.

“The Government is protecting workers by cracking down on employers who ignore minimum wage rules. In addition to naming and shaming, we’ve increased the penalty fines and boosted the resources available to investigate non-compliance.” The scheme was revised in October 2013 to make it simpler to name and shame employers that do not comply with minimum wage rules.

The current National Minimum Wage rates are: Adult rate (21 and over) - £6.50 per hour; 18 to 20-year olds - £5.13 per hour; 16 to 17-year olds - £3.79 per hour; Apprentice rate - £2.73 per hour The apprentice rate applies to apprentices aged 16-18 and those aged 19 and over who are in their first year. All other apprentices are entitled to the National Minimum Wage rate for their age.