Blushes Hairdressing, on Montpellier Walk, Cheltenham, has failed to pay more than £1,000 worth of wages to two of its employees, according to a Government report.

It was identified alongside 260 other employers across England and Wales as underpaying staff by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. This means that more than 16,000 people worked for less than the minimum wage.

Retail, hospitality and hairdressing are among some business that are failing to pay the correct amount. The information published found that the common reasons for errors include failing to pay workers travelling between jobs, debuting money from pay for uniforms and not paying for overtime.

When contacted, Blushes said the their business use a pay roll company that does the wages on behalf of the company, and that employees being underpaid “is not the case”.

Business Minister Margot James, who commissioned the report says: ‘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.’

She went on to say:’That’s why today we are naming hundreds of employers who have been short changing their workers; and to ensure there are consequences for their wallets as well as their reputation, we’ve levied millions in back pay and fines.’

Since 2013, the department has identified £8 million in back pay for more than 58,000 workers, with more than 1,000 employers being fined a total of £5 million. This year the government will spend a record £25.3 million on minimum wage enforcement.

In April 2018 rates will rise again, giving young workers in the biggest pay boost in a decade.