A Redbridge cleaning company has been named and shamed for failing to pay minimum wage.

KKM Enterprises Limited, which runs The Cleaning Company in Redbridge but is registered in Tamworth, is one of 139 companies which have been named by the government for failing to pay minimum wage.

The cleaning company, which has since been liquidated, failed to pay minimum wage to four employees totalling £2,877.

The 139 companies in the list, released on December 31 by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, short-changed their workers by a total of £6.7million.

The companies, which include major household names, were investigated between 2016 and 2018 and range in size from small businesses to large multinationals which employ thousands of people across the UK.

This is the first time the government has named and shamed companies for failing to pay National Minimum Wage since 2018, following reforms to the process to ensure only the worst offenders are targeted.

Business minister Paul Scully said: "It is never acceptable for any employer to short-change their workers, but it is especially disappointing to see huge household names who absolutely should know better on this list.

"This should serve as a wake-up call to named employers and a reminder to everyone of the importance of paying workers what they are legally entitled to.

"Make no mistake, those who fail to follow minimum wage rules will be caught out and made to pay up."

One of the main causes of minimum wage breaches was low-paid employees being made to cover work costs, which would eat into their pay packet, such as paying for uniform, training or parking fees.

Also, some employers failed to raise employees’ pay after they had a birthday which should have moved them into a different National Minimum Wage bracket.

Employers who pay workers less than the minimum wage have to pay back arrears of wages to the worker at current minimum wage rates.

They also face hefty financial penalties of up to 200pc of arrears - capped at £10,000 per worker - which are paid to the government.

All of the companies on the list have paid back their workers, and were forced to pay financial penalties.