A COLCHESTER employer has said sorry after mistakenly underpaying staff.

Mortgages First failed to pay a total of £1,475 to three workers.

The company was among 48 in Britain named and shamed by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, for not paying the minimum wage.

UK Gaming Computers, in Colchester, was also included after it neglected to pay a total of £6,036 to two workers.

Hair salon Divas, of Colchester, did not pay four workers a total of £1,316.

The national minimum wage is £6.50 per hour for adults aged from 21, £5.13 for those aged 18 to 20, £3.79 for 16 to 17-year-olds and £2.73 for apprentices.

Paul Maston, managing director of Mortgages First, Crouch Street, said: “Following a recent inspection by HM Revenue and Customs, of the 78 people employed at Mortgages First, three junior members of staff were found to have been underpaid monthly by, on average, £42 each over a 12- month period.

“These underpayments were not intentional, but due to an administrative miscalculation of the juniors’ age at that time and this had not been acknowledged.

Once informed of the underpayments, not only did the company immediately reimburse the employees concerned, but their salaries were also increased above and beyond the minimum wage.’’ Mr Maston added: “Mortgages First values highly each member of its staff, and would, therefore, not purposely financially disadvantage any of them.

“We regret the administrative error and have put measures in place to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”

! Michelle Sadler, owner of Divas, in St John’s Street, was landed with a £10,500 fine after underpaying apprentices.

Apprentices get a reduced wage due to the training they also receive.

The salon was caught out because during gaps in courses, apprentices are, for those few weeks, entitled to the national minimum wage.

The fine was reduced to £350 after further investigations.

In addition to what hadn’t been paid, Ms Sadler compensated the four a total of £1,000 and paid the fine.

! Damon Curtis, managing director of UK Gaming Computers, said he mistakenly paid two staff apprenticeship wages when, after a few months, they should have been progressed on to the national minimum wage.

Mr Curtis said he was misinformed by the company that provided the apprentices and when made aware of the error, he backdated their pay.