More than £107,000 has been secured for care workers after a Fair Work Agency investigation found they were underpaid for business mileage.
The inquiry, prompted by information received by the agency's contact centre, found that domiciliary care workers at a care provider were not properly reimbursed for mileage incurred while doing their jobs.
Agency staff worked with the employer to review its mileage arrangements. The company accepted staff had been underpaid and moved to put it right, including for former employees. It has also raised its mileage rate from 5p to 40p per mile for 2026.
The total identified for repayment is £107,935.96, made up of £61,343.93 for workers at the Mansfield branch and £46,592.03 for those at Northampton.
A Fair Work Agency spokesperson said: ‘This outcome will make a significant difference to the workers affected and demonstrates the importance of ensuring employees receive the pay and entitlements they are owed.
‘We will continue to work with employers and workers to improve compliance, raise awareness of employment rights and help create fairer workplaces.’
Chloe Grant, Senior Associate with workplace and commercial disputes law firm Bellevue Law comments: ‘This is a useful early warning for employers about how the Fair Work Agency intends to operate. A seemingly routine issue over mileage has resulted in more than £107,000 being repaid, including to former employees.
‘The wider message is that getting the basics wrong can become expensive very quickly when the same practice affects a whole workforce. Employers would be sensible to check now that their pay, expenses and working-time arrangements stand up to scrutiny, rather than waiting for the Fair Work Agency to do it for them.’
