Asda employees have resorted to skipping household bills, taking out loans and even using food banks to get them through the month as the Big 4 grocer faces payroll errors that have seen some underpaid by £500.

The scale of the issues emerged after the grocer admitted to Scottish parliament that its external payroll firm had made nearly 11,000 errors recently, affecting the wages of 5,500 employees.

However, local press reports have highlighted the issue, claiming staff working in the Falkirk superstore were using food banks and payday lenders due to pay inaccuracies.

Asda staff members told trade union GMB they were getting increasingly desperate as monthly payments could be short by anything under £100 to over £500.

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Others reported that overpayments, clawed back the following month, had resulted in their benefits being cut.

According to reports the errors have left staff “dreading” rather than looking forward to payday, with some employees telling the union they were skipping meals visiting food banks and taking out loans when their wages were short.

Others had had to miss bill payments – affecting their credit score.

“Paying staff for the work they do is an utterly basic responsibility of employers,” said Nadine Houghton, GMB national officer, of the company which was bought by petrol station billionaires Mohsin and Zuber Issa and TDR Capital last year.

“Asda knows it is a massive issue, but sadly isn’t doing enough to put this right – they refuse to invest the money needed in the payroll operation to sort this out.

“The stories we have heard from our members are heartbreaking,” Houghton added.

“During a cost-of-living crisis, low-paid workers must be able to rely on a level of decency from their employer that ensures they are paid for the work they do.”

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