Casual dining chain PizzaExpress has been listed among more than 500 companies that failed to pay some staff the UK's legal minimum wage, as reported by The Caterer.

According to the UK Department for Business and Trade, 60,000 workers across various companies have been compensated more than £7.4m ($9.96m) due to wage discrepancies.

PizzaExpress was second on the list and owed £706,701 to 8,470 workers, averaging £83 per employee.

A PizzaExpress spokesperson stated: “Once we were made aware of this historic unintentional technicality, which occurred between 2012 and 2018, we swiftly identified who was impacted, apologised and rectified [it]. There’s nothing more important to us than fairly and accurately paying our team members.”

Hilton UK Hotels Limited was also cited for underpaying £18,924 to 20 staff members.

The companies have been fined up to 200% of the amount underpaid.

Many have attributed the underpayments to past administrative or technical errors.

The Caterer reports that these issues were resolved years ago, suggesting that the underpayments were not recent occurrences.

The UK National Living Wage in the UK has increased to £12.21 per hour for those aged 21 and over.

The minimum wage for workers aged 18 to 20 is now £10 per hour. Those under 18 and apprentices must be paid at least £7.55 on an hourly basis.

PizzaExpress secured a significant refinancing deal in April 2025, which will reduce its debt by £55m.

The agreement includes a £55m par debt paydown, decreasing the company's debt to £280m.

Bain Capital Special Situations and other shareholders have contributed £20m in equity to Wheel Topco, the parent company of PizzaExpress.

PizzaExpress was founded by Peter Boizot in London's Soho in 1965. The brand now has more than 360 pizzerias in the UK and Ireland and has expanded into 12 international markets.

"PizzaExpress listed by UK government for minimum wage payment failure" was originally created and published by Verdict Food Service, a GlobalData owned brand.

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