UK law. My brother works as a despatcher for a taxi company. His boss only pays him £3 an hour.?

Question

I reported the company to the minimum wages people, who found no anomalies. The bosses claimed that the workers only do part time and they (the bosses) cover the rest of the shifts. Most of the staff work 50+ hours, without breaks, holidays, meals, sick pay, maternity pay, etc. Is there anything that can be done to stop this from happening? I hope someone in the answers community can help me with this.

The answers to the questions raised in my posting are as follows: My brother is 46 years old. He has worked for the company at least for the last 2 Christmases, because he worked Christmas day for the last 2 years, from around 3 am to 8 pm. He was only paid £6 an hour for both shifts, as well as doing Boxing Day and New Year's day, all at the same £6 "double time" rate. Hope this helps.

I understand the company are not responsible for supplying him with a meal, but they are responsible for supplying him with the time needed for a meal break, plus tea breaks.

He gets the same money all year round, not just at Christmas time. He gets £3 an hour, other than Christmas Day when he gets double time, i.e. £6 an hour.

He gets the same money all year round, not just at Christmas time. He gets £3 an hour, other than Christmas Day when he gets double time, i.e. £6 an hour.

Answer 1

Who can you call if you want to speak to someone about the minimum wage?
If you need help or advice, the NMW helpline accepts calls and enquiries from employees, employers and any other interested parties such as independent advisors.

Open Monday to Friday 9.00am to 5pm, all calls are taken in strict confidence.

Telephone - 0845 6000 678

Minicom - 0845 915 3296

Callers can be assisted in 30 different languages.

You can also write to us at:

BP7102
Norham House
Benton Park View
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE98 1ZZ

Answer 2

Go to the Citizens Advice Bureau. What age is your brother? Is he paid hourly or on a set wage. Breaks are a legal entitlement but they are not as good as some people seem to believe that they are. Same as holidays. Sick pay and maternity pay are different. Maternity pay is only a necessity if you have been employed for more than a year. Sick pay is up to the boss whether or not they are willing to pay it. Meals are also not the responsibility of the company.

Is it only christmas that his wages are rubbish? They do not need to pay double time. Companies only offer double time as an incentive because nobody in their right mind would work for normal time on Christmas Day if they did not have to.

Answer 3

if your brothers 46 why areyou fighting his battles forhim. if hes been there 2 years + and stillon the same wage then hes only himself toblame if he wants more and hasnt asked for it. Ive worked for a taxi company and unfortunately they get away with it because they base the amount of wages on a set shift so you get 20 quid a shift for example which combined with the hours you do usally ends up at £3 or less an hour. Its a fact of taxi life the drivers and the dispatches work long hours for peanuts.

Answer 4

The minimum wage is £5.35 per hour.

You say this company has been reported, and no anomalies were found.

Are you certain your brother is employed, and not self-employed by this company?

An employee is entitled to breaks, holidays start accruing from the first day of employment and SSP and SMP and so on are available to all employees, subject to the various rules.

However, none of the above are available is a person is self-employed. It is then up to the self-employed person whether they take a holiday, or accept a contract.

Answer 5

That is digusting, the firm should be reported. There is a minimum wage regardless of how many hours you work and all PAYE employes are entiled to breaks, holidays, statutory sick and statutory maternity pay through the government. You could contact ACAS they have a website

Answer 6

If HMRC have investigated the company and cleared them, it looks as if they have been misled.
The only thing you can do is go back to HMRC with evidence, eg timesheets, wages slips, etc and ask them to look into the company again. If they are failing to pay maternity leave, etc, then that is an offence which the DSS need to be told about.
Otherwise, I agree with those who say he should go and work for a company which treats its employees properly.

Answer 7

thta is below the minimum wage and as far as I know illegal,your brother should not be working for that little. they obviously lied to people you reported it to.

I would suggest going to the citezens advice and finding out the correct route you should take.

They are employing illegally and should be stopped,they probably have books covering their a-s-s-e-s and will no doubt be hard to proove.
good luck but by the sounds of it they are not gonna make it easy for you.

You should be able to do a web search on employment laws?

Answer 8

As far as I am aware there is a reason for the minimum wage here in the UK, it applies to part time as well... though it does depend on how old your brother is as to what the minimum wage is.... if he does not get the minimum wage then he should keep his payslip and then show it to the relelvant authority

Answer 9

I would say they are breaking the law because the national minimum wage is between £4 and £5! if i was him i would look for another job! his bosses are taking the pi ss, I hope you get the information you need!

Answer 10

Who did you report it to? Because there is no way that this is legal, even if they try and say he is part time.

The problem is, if he shops them, they will find a way to sack him.

So, suggest he looks for a PROPERLY paid job, legal minimum is £5 something for over 18 year olds.