National Minimum Wage

[brightncheerful]

HMRC' has released this list of some of the most absurd excuses used for not paying the legal minimum.

“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.”


I wouldn't have thought that ''absurd' a particularly good assessment. For example if I were to pay any of my workers the NMW then I would say:

'She does not deserve the NMW because she is constantly off sick"
"My employee is on the dole so has no need of payment from me"
'My accountant and i speak a different language: he is into paying tax, i am not''
'I have got an agreement with my workers that i will not pay them unless they've run out of money'
'My business has thousands of workers, i can't be expected to remember all their names''
'My workers don't expect hand-outs'
'Do you think I am made of money?'

[pje16]

totally off topic but this reminds me of the accident excuses
(both categories are from thosw without much brain power)

Leaving home for work I drove out of my drive and straight into a bus; the bus was five minutes early.

I was driving my car out of the driveway in the usual manner, when it was struck by the other car in the same place it had been struck several times before.

I had been learning to drive with power steering. I turned the wheel to what I thought was enough and found myself in a different direction going the opposite way.

One wheel went into the ditch. My foot jumped from the accelerator pedal, leapt across the lane to the other side and jammed in the trunk of a tree.

I was on my way to the doctor with rear end trouble when my universal joint gave way causing me to have an accident.

The gentleman behind me struck me on the backside. He then went to rest in a bush with just his rear end showing.

Coming home, I drove into the wrong house and struck a tree I haven't got.

The accident was caused by me waving to the man I hit last week.

The accident occurred when I was attempting to bring my car out of a skid by steering it into the other vehicle.

I was knocked out as a result of the collision and was taken to hospital where I sustained serious injuries.

Good to know that the NHS is NOT like this