Wolves apologise after scarf blunder

Confused supporters turned up at Molineux hoping to get their hands on a free gold and black scarf, only to be told they couldn't have one.

Around120,000 fans were emailed in error saying a free scarf was theirs.

However the email was only intended for season ticket holders who hadn't yet picked up their free scarf from a promotion offer run last summer.

After fans started turning up at the club's megastore Wolves sent out another email apologising for the error.

The initial email said: "Have you collected your FREE scarf?

"If you have yet to collect your free scarf, please do so before the visit from Sunderland on Saturday. Any remaining scarves will be given to Half Season Ticket holders on a first come, first serve basis.

"You can exchange your voucher for a scarf at our Molineux Megastore, Wolfie's Den or the Ticket Office. Please note, scarves will not be given out without a voucher."

All fans were then emailed again a day later with an apology, which read: "Yesterday, we accidentally sent you an email about collecting a free scarf.

"This initiative was part of the 2017 season ticket campaign and the email was intended for season ticket holders that are yet to claim their scarf.

"We wholeheartedly apologise that you received the email in error and for any inconvenience it has caused you.

"Thank you for your support!"

Meanwhile Wolves have failed to pay 16 programme sellers the minimum wage.

Government investigators have released new figures about which firms failed to pay employees the national minimum standard.

And the Championship table toppers, who are owned by Chinese conglomerate Fosun, are on the list.

Wolves failed to pay the 16 workers a combined £450.79, according to the figures.

Nationally, 260 employers failed to pay 16,000 workers at least minimum wage rates.

Analysis found £1.7 million in back pay was owed for some of the UK’s lowest paid workers and fined employers £1.3 million for underpayment.

Common reasons for errors made include: failing to pay workers travelling between jobs, deducting money from pay for uniforms and not paying for overtime.

Other football clubs on the list include Scottish sides Greenock Morton and Motherwell.

Business Minister Margot James said: "There is no excuse for not paying staff the wages they're entitled to and the Government will come down hard on businesses that break the rules.

“That’s why today we are naming hundreds of employers who have been short changing their workers.

"To ensure there are consequences for their wallets as well as their reputation, we’ve levied millions in back pay and fines.”

Bryan Sanderson, chairman of the Low Pay Commission, said: “Our conversations with employers suggest the risk of being named is encouraging businesses to focus on compliance.

“Further, it is good to see HMRC continues to target large employers who have underpaid a large number of workers, as well as cases involving only a few workers, where workers are at risk of the most serious exploitation.

"It is imperative the Government keeps up the pressure on all employers who commit breaches of minimum wage law.”

A Wolves spokesman said: "For many years the agreement with our programme sellers was to pay them a standard incentive-based commission relating to how many programmes they sold, as well as providing them with a complimentary match ticket for the game at which they worked.

"It was brought to our attention that this approach was not satisfying the minimum wage regulations in a very small number of cases where the commission earned by the sellers was marginally below the minimum wage.

"This was due to the value of the match ticket not being viewed as part of the payment by the HMRC.

"To put this into context, the amount underpaid amounted to just £450 for a total of 16 employees over a seven-year period.

"As soon as we were made aware that this was the case, we immediately made the necessary changes to ensure all of our programme sellers receive the correct payments for their time worked, as well as still receiving additional commission where earned, and a complimentary ticket."