An East Anglia estate agency has been publicly named by the government after an investigation found it had underpaid staff.

Starkings & Watson has been ordered to repay £1,357 to six employees after failing to meet minimum wage requirements.

The firm, along with its parent company SWEA Ltd, appears on a list of 389 businesses published by the Department for Business & Trade for breaching wage laws. The penalty issued to SWEA Ltd – currently facing an HMRC winding-up order – has not been disclosed.

Starkings & Watson operates as a hybrid estate agency across Norfolk and Suffolk, with eight offices including its headquarters in Norwich.

Other property firms named on the list include Lux Homes Property Group Ltd, Claremont Residential Ltd, Glenmore Property Services Ltd, Arcus FM Ltd, and TOD Anstee Property Consultants Ltd.

Peter Kyle, Business Secretary, said: “The vast majority of businesses in this country do the right thing by paying their staff properly and playing by the rules.

“It’s not fair on them when others are able to get ahead by not paying the wages their workers are owed,” he says.

“A good employer doesn’t build their business on the back of unpaid wages, and I look forward to working with the new Fair Work Agency to ensure its powers are used to crack down on those who think the rules don’t apply to them.”