Motherwell FC has been named in the shameful list of employers that underpaid minimum wage rates to some of their workers. It is an embarrassment to the fan owned club.
The government press release lists 260 companies in the latest ‘name and shame’ list. The relevant entry for MFC is
62. Motherwell Football and Athletic Club Limited (The) trading as Motherwell F.C., North Lanarkshire ML1, failed to pay £2,755.34 to 12 workers.
The club replied to the BBC’s request for comment as follows,
"The club received an assessment from HM Revenue and Customs in May this year.
"It stated that the club had failed to pay the minimum wage to a very small number of employees.
"This was an administrative error on the club's part. The amount outstanding was immediately paid to employees in full."
The report appears in the same week as the club announced that its 112th AGM will take place on 18 December and shareholders are likely to ask for an explanation.
The accounts for 2016/17 showed that the club paid over £3M in wage costs to its 109 employees. A breakdown list them as
Administration (14)
Football staff (11)
Players (22)
Youth players (17)
Youth development (33)
Ground staff & cleaners (7)
Catering (5)
The club is listed alongside Primark and Sports Direct in this list of shame. MFC has rightly made much of its status as the first top flight club to be owned by its supporters and this news blunts the good impression that has been in recent times.