Chanel blasted by Government for not paying Croydon workers minimum wage
By Tara O’Connor, Local Democracy Reporter
Chanel has been named and shamed by the government for not paying 250 workers the minimum wage at its Croydon distribution offices.
The luxury brand has a distribution centre called Bourjois House in Queensway, off Purley Way.
The latest government data shows the company at the CR9 postcode failed to pay a total of £70,413.59 to 250 workers. It has since paid back employees the money they missed out on.
Chanel was one of 202 companies named and shamed after investigations by HMRC between 2017 and 2019.
A spokesman for Chanel told fashion industry publication Drapers all employees are paid above the national living wage, £10.42 an hour for those over 23.
But the company said the payments which appear to be below the minimum wage were prior to 2019 and due to the fact employees had allowed the company to make deductions from their salary “at source”.
They said: “These included deductions such as discounted staff purchases and pension contributions, which Chanel had not understood as having to be taken into consideration when calculating staff hourly rates.”
The company said it has reviewed and updated its approach and compensated employees for the gap.
Bryan Sanderson, chairman of the Low Pay Commission, said: “The minimum wage acts as a guarantee to ensure all workers without exception receive a decent minimum standard of pay.
“Where employers break the law, they not only do a disservice to their staff but also undermine fair competition between businesses.
“Regular naming rounds should be a useful tool in raising awareness of underpayment and helping to protect minimum wage workers.
“The government has been clear that anyone entitled to be paid the minimum wage should receive it, and that robust enforcement action will be taken against employers who do not pay their staff correctly.”
Pictured top: Chanel’s Croydon offices and distribution Centre in Queensway (Picture: Google Street View)
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