More than 10,000 current and former WHSmith employees have been paid uniform rebates of around £40 on average, after the company asked its staff to wear certain clothes to work.
According to the retailer, it has already contacted over 10,000 current and former employees and paid them in March.
In cases where an employer tells its workers to wear specific clothes at work, and either deducts the cost of the uniform from workers' wages or expects them to pay for the clothes themselves, it counts as a reduction in the employees' pay, according to HMRC regulations.
Therefore, buying uniforms could bring workers' salaries below minimum wage levels. If so, the employer will need to cover part or all of the costs to make sure employees' pay remains at or above the minimum wage.
WHSmith says it is in the process of reviewing its uniform policy.
