In the 2020 to 2021 tax year, HMRC helped more than 155,000 workers across the UK recover more than £16 million in pay which was due to them, and also issued more than £14 million in penalties.
HMRC has published some of the most absurd excuses used for not paying the national minimum wage:
- “She does not deserve the National Minimum Wage because she only makes the teas and sweeps the floors.”
- “The employee was not a good worker, so I did not think they deserved to be paid the National Minimum Wage.”
- “My accountant and I speak a different language – he does not understand me, and that is why he does not pay my workers the correct wages.”
- “My employee is still learning so they are not entitled to the National Minimum Wage.”
- “It is part of UK culture not to pay young workers for the first three months as they have to prove their ‘worth’ first.”
- “The National Minimum Wage does not apply to my business.”
- “I have got an agreement with my workers that I will not pay them the National Minimum Wage; they understand, and they even signed a contract to this effect.”
- “I thought it was okay to pay young workers below the National Minimum Wage as they are not British and therefore do not have the right to be paid it.”
- “My workers like to think of themselves as being self-employed and the National Minimum Wage does not apply to people who work for themselves.”
- “My workers are often just on standby when there are no customers in the shop; I only pay them for when they are actually serving someone.”
