Between them they owe workers more than £6,800 and have been charged financial penalties totalling £3,381.

The government is introducing a series of tougher measures to crack down on employers who flout National Minimum Wage law. The first of these, a tougher naming and shaming scheme, came into effect on 1 October 2013.

The five employers, who are the first to be named under the stricter rules, are:

• Peter Oakes of Peter Oakes Ltd, Macclesfield, neglected to pay £3619.70 to 2 workers
• Lisa Maria Cathcart of Salon Sienna, Manchester, neglected to pay £1760.48 to a worker
• Mohammed Yamin of Minto Guest House, Edinburgh, neglected to pay £808.56 to a worker
• Anne Henderson of Chambers Hairdressers, Middlesbrough neglected to pay £452.22 to a worker
• Ruzi Ruzyyev a car wash operator in Carmarthen neglected to pay £225.38 to a worker

As well as being publicly named and shamed, employers who fail to pay their workers the National Minimum Wage will face higher financial penalties of up to £20,000 as of 7 March 2014.

The government also plans to introduce legislation so that employers will also be given penalties of up to £20,000 for each individual worker they have underpaid, rather than the maximum fine applying to each employer. In the most serious cases, employers can also face criminal prosecution.

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Business Secretary Vince Cable said: “Paying less than the minimum wage is illegal. If employers break the law they need to know that they will face tough consequences.”

The National Minimum Wage for adults increased by 12p to £6.31 an hour last October.