HMRC figures showed that 172,000 staff were underpaid with 524 employers flaunting the rules, including household names such as Greggs, Estee Lauder and EasyJet although all said they had rectified the issue as soon as they were notified.

With this number of employers underpaying the current national minimum wage (NMW) and it set to rise 9.8% on 1 April this year could see even more companies on the next list.

The top 10 highest offenders accounted for £9,969,434, with one company owing over £5m. 

Recruitment agency Staffline Recruitment Limited failed to pay £5,125,270 to 36,767 employees between 2014 and 2018, underpaying each person by £139.

Staffline said in a statement: ‘Staffline was made aware that it would be included in a Department for Business and Trade announcement relating to a historic breach of national minimum wage compliance, which was disclosed by Staffline in 2019.