Government list identified underpayments to four workers across Burford, Wantage and Oxford. Two businesses say accommodation calculation errors caused the shortfalls; a third has gone into liquidation.
Three Oxfordshire employers repaid or were ordered to repay a combined shortfall of more than £5,500 to four workers after HMRC enforcement.
One named employer, Grace Care Service Limited (Burford Nursing Home), described the issue as an administrative payroll error and said staff pay rates remain above the legal minimum.
# What happened Minimum Wage and were required to repay affected workers. Three of those employers are based in Oxfordshire. In total the local cases involved underpayments to four workers amounting to more than £5,500.
# Who was named and immediate responses Grace Care Service Limited (Burford Nursing Home) was listed for underpaying two workers by £681.85. Director Maria Qiu said the issue related to "the application of the National Minimum Wage rules relating specifically to accommodation charges and the statutory accommodation offset." She called it an "administrative/payroll calculation error" and said the shortfall was repaid and standard pay rates remain above the minimum.
Ecoserv FM Group Limited, based in Oxford, was listed for underpaying one worker by £654.14. That company has entered liquidation. The company and its liquidators were approached for comment but did not respond.
# Why accommodation offsets matter When employers provide accommodation, there is a statutory accommodation offset that can be applied when calculating National Minimum Wage. If an employer applies an offset incorrectly or charges more than the permitted amount, HMRC can conclude the worker was underpaid even if the hourly cash rate appears compliant.
In the two Oxfordshire cases where firms commented, the companies described the breaches as technical or administrative errors tied to how accommodation charges were treated for pay calculations rather than deliberate underpayment of hourly wages.
# Enforcement context The nationwide list included 658 employers who repaid around £4 million to more than 27,000 workers following enforcement action. The Oxfordshire cases are part of that wider enforcement exercise by the Government.
# Practical implications for small employers Employers who provide accommodation should:
# What the named businesses did after discovery Grace Care Service Limited said it reviewed processes and rectified the calculation error once identified. Rebecca Cowderoy described the episode as distressing and has since relocated and changed her working arrangements. Ecoserv FM Group Limited entered liquidation and did not respond to requests for comment.
# Bottom line
The UK Government has listed 658 businesses who have failed to pay National Minimum Wage to employers including B&Q, Elysium Healthcare, and an NHS trust.
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