The 10 worst excuses for not paying minimum wage

A £1.7million advertising campaign by the Government to encourage staff to check if they are being illegally underpaid has revealed the excuses, via HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), that employers have given for not paying the National Minimum Wage.  

The National Minimum Wage is set to rise to £7.50 an hour for those above 24-years-old this April, and will increase again the following year. It is £6.95 an hour for those between 21- and 24-years-old, and £5.55 an hour for those between 18- to 20-years-old.

The Government has fined approximately 700 companies a cumulative figure of £1.3million, making them pay back £3.5million in the process, since February 2013.

Margot James, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Small Business, Consumers and Corporate Responsibility and MP for Stourbridge, said: “There are no excuses for underpaying staff what they are legally entitled to.”