Six local businesses have been named and shamed as failing to pay staff the minimum wage.
In total, the six firms – five of which were pubs and restaurants – underpaid staff by almost £10,000.
The biggest underpayer was Portslade takeaway Dosa Kingdom, which underpaid five staff a total of £2.341.92 from January to August 2024.
St James’s Street Tavern underpaid the most – ten staff a total of £1,895.05 from May 2021 to September 2022.
The businesses were named by the government, which first started the practice in 2011.
| Company name | Area | Type of business | Total | No employees | Amount per employee | Start date | End date |
| Dosa Kingdom Ltd | Portslade | Takeaway | £2,341.92 | 5 | £468.38 | 1/1/2024 | 31/8/2024 |
| Neonify Limited | Brighton | Software developer | £2,116.36 | 1 | £2,116.36 | 1/10/2024 | 31/10/2024 |
| Saint James Tavern Ltd | Brighton | Pub | £1,895.05 | 10 | £189.51 | 1/5/2021 | 30/9/2022 |
| Sundari Foods Limited (trading as Vel Brighton) | Brighton | Restaurant | £1,430.03 | 2 | £715.02 | 1/4/2023 | 31/8/2023 |
| RFG Brighton Limited (trading as Kaspa’s Desserts) | Brighton | Cafe | £1,159.33 | 1 | £1,159.33 | 3/7/2023 | 30/7/2023 |
| Sumatra Ltd (trading as Longrain Theatre) | Brighton | Restaurant | £508.01 | 4 | £127.00 | 1/3/2024 | 31/3/2024 |
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “The best businesses know that looking after your workers isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do, building the stronger, more successful businesses that drive growth in every postcode.
“Most employers already understand this, and I want to work with them to ensure they have every piece of guidance and support available to help them follow the rules.
“Short-changing your staff isn’t a shortcut to success and we are determined to stamp it out.”
Minister for the Future of Work Kate Dearden 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 suspect they are being underpaid, they can visit gov.uk/checkyourpay to find out more about what they can do.
To be honest, businesses will do what they have to in order to survive nowadays. Even the most successful pub in the city is now losing money, according to its former owner who still keeps in touch with the current owner, so how many will even still exist two years from now?
Since pubs encourage responsible drinking and provide a valuable social networking space which staves off social isolation and MH issues, why not tax supermarket booze instead? Or go back to having off-licence only outside of the pub business? Supermarkets didn’t even used to sell alcohol. Pubs are being slaughtered by Labour taxes and policies. Then local Labour have the cheek to wring their hands when their own policies close their favourites – Charles Street Tap and Revenge Bar.
Ah, it’s the labour parties fault for the past 15 years of bad policies. Good to know, thanks for the input…
1. Pubs weren’t closing at anywhere near the rate they are 15 years ago.
2. Idk where you plucked the 15 years metric from as it’s nonsensical due to 3…
3. As per what I can only assume was your attempt at absolution for your side. Labour haven’t been in power and implementing policies for the last 15 years ( your assumed point). However neither have the Tories as they haven’t been in power and/or enacting policy. Labour took power & began doing so just over 2 years ago. Since which time pub closures have increased both in numbers and frequency.
you have a very good point about the isolation and mh issues.
the pub is an incredibly important community hub for people of all walks of life
Tracy, young people haven’t been interested in drinking to the same levels as older generations for years. It’s questionable if pubs encourage responsible drinking – perhaps in the form of the cost of doing so. For the price of a pint of cider in a pub, many people are choosing to buy a whole bottle and enjoy it at home. Maybe alcohol in supermarkets should also be taxed heavily, but does that promote responsible drinking or create alcoholics with even deeper financial issues? Maybe we look at tobacco and how that has worked to see the potential answer to that question.
Unfortunately, this is not a political issue, but rather a change in societal norms. Anyway, everything you said doesn’t justify breaking the law and underpaying staff.
Walk past any property on Recycling day when the glass box is out, there always full.
My friends and i, on a going out night tend to kneck a few down at home.
The joys of predrinking! Much cheaper to get your buzz on before you go out, right?
I think you’ll find that when ID was required for pubs and so rigidly enforced, under 18s found that the only avenue open was to go buy drugs instead, and so these policies have driven up drug usage and pretty much killed demand for pubs. Pubs will die out with the current middle-aged generation.
Young people found drugs were extremely easy to buy, cheaper than drinking in a pub, and with the ‘e-bike balaclava army’ doing the efficient running like ants all over Brighton under the guise of food delivery, any ideas that the legitimate traditional hospitality business model will survive is long gone.
Blame the heavy-handed ID laws. The establishment created this all by themselves, and whilst we continue to put the totally inept in charge of society (local government especially), then there will be far worse to come. Count on them.
Agreed, ID enforcement has certainly prevented underage drinking in pubs. One has to wonder, if your trade relied so heavily on underage drinking that it’s affecting your viability, should that not be raising questions as a business owner?
Tracy Charles St Tap closed because Stonegate didn’t renew the lease.
That is the only reason.
Pubs have been in decline for 40 years, brewery takeovers with higher rents started the problem for independent landlords, back then and I assume today cash in hand is normal, prices today don’t compare, working people don’t spend the same in pubs, the % of your wage for drink has massively increased, can’t afford 6 nights a week after work, kids, rent, food etc takes the bulk of your wages. That’s some of the reasons for pubs vanishing, besides shitty service, smoking still ongoing, drugs around, no thanks I’m content with a couple of pints then home. Obviously people go where they prefer and this is just my point of view, but I’m not alone with this train of thought.
St James’s st pub has denied in no uncertain terms that they had underpaid staff, and were very surprised to learn for that they were on a list when it was published in the press.
Shame on these businesses. There’s no excuse for it.
Not when a hospitality business like Wetherspoons can charge value for money prices in luxuriously furnished buildings with award winning toilets yet still pay its staff more than the minimum wage and give away hundreds of millions of pounds worth of free shares and bonuses to staff.
The main reason for pub closures is down to the major breweries and management companies. They impose restrictions and insist on ties meaning that the tenant/landlord face impossible pressures to eke out a decent living. Add to this the social trends of drinking less and drinking indoors and you have a heady recipe for cracking the market.
The drinking less is a big one, you can have 100 people of an evening, but if groups are regularly drinking 2 pints instead of 4, then that’s half the income.
I bet they never check the nails bars, vape shops and all the barbers that are popping up. Plus the hundreds of people riding around on electric bikes with full face coverings.
Good point, Robert. The Council should go and check all the barbers, vape shops and nail bars and find out how many of them are paying the Living Wage!
Tracy that’s not the councils job.
It’s HMRCs job.