Record numbers of companies are flouting minimum wage laws, according to official figures.
The Inland Revenue said that 1,014 firms were caught paying less than the minimum £5.05 an hour in the past financial year.
The department also reported an increasing number of complaints about low pay, reports The Daily Mirror.
Liberal Democrat MP Norman Lamb, who is campaigning against rogue firms, told the paper: “Despite the minimum wage coming in more than six years ago too many employers are still failing to pay it.”
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He called on the government to clamp down on firms that fail to pay employees the proper rate.
A study in Birmingham last month found some workers earning as little as £2.05 an hour. Factory employees, cleaners, and kitchen staff were among those worst affected.