Alan King and Lucinda Russell named on list of employers who have failed to pay some staff minimum wage
Prominent horse racing trainers Alan King and Lucinda Russell were named in a government list of employers who failed to pay staff the national minimum wage. The trainers cited administrative errors, and the British Horseracing Authority has confirmed that staff are now being paid correctly.
Why it matters
The report underscores the government's enforcement of labor laws and the importance of fair compensation practices across all industries, including sports.
Grand National-winning trainer Russell, whose yard trades as Arlary House Stables, failed to pay £2,158.39 to two workers. The arrears period started on October 1, 2023 and ended on October 31, 2024.
Russell said: “It was two errors as opposed to intentionally doing so regularly. We take the payment of staff very seriously and pay over the minimum wage. When they looked into the payment of all the other staff, of which we have around 60, they were all happy with them.
“The errors related to two different circumstances. I was charging one of the boys livery for a point-to-pointer he had, and so that ended up getting taken off his wages. The other matter related to a two-person accommodation and the staff member wanted to have it on its own, so again that was taken off his wage and bumped it down.”
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