Minimum wage query letter

The letter

[date]

Dear [who you are writing to],

Query about minimum wage compliance

I am writing to ask you to check my pay for [the pay period you are asking about] against the National Minimum Wage.

For that period my gross pay was [total gross pay for that period] and I worked [total hours worked in that period] hours.

For minimum wage purposes the test is total pay divided by total hours worked in the pay reference period, including any hours worked beyond my contracted hours. Overtime premiums and deductions made for the employer's benefit are excluded from pay for this calculation.

Could you please confirm the figures you hold for that period, and whether they clear the rate for my age band?

Yours sincerely,

[your name]

Nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere. Fill it in, take the text, close the page.

What happens next

HMRC enforces the minimum wage and you can report underpayment confidentially, including for a job you have left.
Arrears are recovered at current rates rather than the rate that applied at the time, so they can be worth more than the original shortfall.
Acas can talk it through first, free, on 0300 123 1100.

This letter rests on National Minimum Wage Act 1998. It is a starting point, not legal advice — change anything that does not fit your situation.

Nathan Cole

I write the guides on HoursHQ and check every statutory figure against GOV.UK, Acas and the legislation itself before it goes live. Where the law is genuinely unclear, I say so rather than guessing.