MITIE is refunding its suppliers tens of thousands of pounds after an investigation showed that some have been charged £10,000 for the privilege of working for the company.

Procurers of the FTSE 250 outsourcing group had previously asked for a “one-off payment of £10,000 in order to become a MITIE preferred supplier.”

The Cabinet Minister, Francis Maude, recently urged the Government’s 31 largest suppliers, including MITIE, to become more ‘transparent’ in its dealings with government and treatment of subcontractors and to ‘expand’ its use of small businesses.

The suppliers affected had previously worked for Dalkia Technical Facilities, which MITIE acquired for £130m last year.