‘He doesn’t deserve it – he’s a total waste of space’ is the best – or worst – excuse HM Revenue and Customs enforcers heard from an employer refusing to pay the National Minimum Wage.
In fact, some of the excuses were so bad, enforcers have compared notes and produced a top ten:
10. I only took him on as a favour.
9. The workers can’t speak English.
8. He’s over 65, so the national minimum wage doesn’t apply.
7. She’s on benefits – if you add those to her pay, it totals the National Minimum Wage (NMW).
6. They can’t cope on their own and it’s more than they would get in their own country.
5. He’s disabled.
4. I didn’t think it applied to small employers.
3. I didn’t think the workers were worth NMW.
2. But she only wanted £3 an hour.
1. He doesn’t deserve it – he’s a total waste of space.
Paymaster general Dawn Primarolo said: “By far the majority of employers are honest and scrupulous, so instances of non-payment are very much in the minority.
“But this list shows that there are still some rogue employers out there willing to flout the law, which is why our enforcement teams are hard at work across the UK to ensure that everyone is getting paid at least the National Minimum Wage.”
