SME businesses have been warned they face hefty fines by breaching the government’s minimum wage barrier.

In the single biggest list of companies exposed by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills there were several automotive businesses listed among 37 firms to be “named and shamed” for failing to pay the minimum wage.

The offenders will be fined a total of £51,000 and must also pay affected staff the £177,000 they were underpaid.

The automotive companies named included:

• Century Motors (Sheffield) Ltd, Sheffield, neglected to pay £571.72 to a worker;
• RPM Performance Rally World Ltd, Maldon, neglected to pay £998.71 to a worker;
• Motorists Discount Store Ltd trading as TMS Autoparts, Manchester, neglected to pay £2,025.19 to a worker;
• HAE Automotive Services Ltd, Harrogate (ceased trading), neglected to pay £798.16 to a worker.

Big name companies including H&M and Welcome Break were also fined. Welcome Break said a new IT problem contributed to the mistake, while H&M blamed time logging errors.

The government has already named 55 firms since October 2013 for underpaying staff.

The minimum wage for adults aged 21 and over currently stands at £6.50 per hour although the three major Westminster parties have all said they want to raise it.