Some workplaces are really shady and there’s always signs, such as paying employees in cash.

This guy’s boss refused to pay him minimum wage and dared him to find another job. The employee did look for another job, but the boss lost much more than an employee!

Check out what happened next!

Minimum wage is discretionary

My first part-time job was in a cafe, starting when I was 16.

As jobs go, it was pretty good.

It was minimum wage of course but the owner was flexible with schedules, we got discounted food and my coworkers were generally lovely people.

This is where it gets bad.

The only issue I had occurred when I turned 18.

In my country (UK), minimum wage is set at one level for 16-17 years but then rises by around 30% for 18+.

We’d always been paid cash in hand weekly so I knew things were not exactly koshier but when my first pay envelope after my 18th birthday came, I was still surprised not to see my pay bump.

He tried talking it through with his boss…

Thinking it was just an oversight, I informed the owner that I hadn’t received my pay increase but they waved their hand and said “Oh no, minimum wage is discretionary” in a matter of fact way.

I laughed at this and they acted like I was naive and said “Trust me, it is. I can’t pay you any more but you’re free to try your luck elsewhere”.

So that’s exactly what I did.

My colleague who had also just turned 18 and I had both found a new place paying more than double our current wage within a few weeks.

There’s nothing better than throwing their own words back at them!

The only issue was that I was asked to start with only a few days notice, on a weekend I was scheduled to work.

I called the owner to let them know I had found a new role and could work my other shifts but not at the weekend, and they told me my notice period was two weeks, to which I responded, “Oh no, my notice period is discretionary.”

They didn’t like that and told me not to bother coming back.

Finally! They got what they deserved!

That was the last I had heard of them until a few months later when I received a letter informing me the government was investigating them on my behalf for unpaid wages.

It turns out a colleague I had enlightened about minimum wage of course not being discretionary had also left and contacted HMRC.

Cherry on top!

A couple of weeks after, I received my cheque from the owner in the post and I found out that within a few months the cafe had to close and let their staff go because of unpaid taxes.

All because they didn’t want to pay us £4 83 per hour.

Yay! He got a better job and compensation for the lost money!

That boss learned the lesson of a lifetime.

Let’s find out what folks on Reddit think about this story.

This user knows that cash payments were a huge sign!

That’s right! This user knows that exploiting employees isn’t the way to go.

This user shared how he got his little lottery!

That’s right! This guy knows what the government is doing!

This user shares how things are in Canada.

All the boss had to do was pay the employees fairly!

If you liked this post, check out this story about an employee who got revenge on a co-worker who kept grading their work suspiciously low.