Hi folks. So yeah i got a new job about 5 weeks ago, haven't been on in ages as a result, it is in a shop/small supermarket. I'd just like to get your advice and opinions on a few things.

Firstly, if what i know is right, the current minimum wage is €8.65 per hour, although i, and the other staff, only get paid €8.40 an hour. Is this against the law or is it not?

Also, for working on both Sundays and on Bank Holidays, we get paid the normal rate of €8.40 an hour, yes even on Bank Holidays as well as Sundays! I've heard that this is down to the discretion of the owner of what they wish to pay you, whether they choose to pay you more for Sundays and/or bank holidays. I don't want to give away the name of the place but there are many of these shope around the country, loads of them, but i was talking to a girl who works in another shop/mini supermarket of the same name, and she told me that she gets paid time & a third for working sundays and bank holidays, which is good enough. In my last job, which was very similar only in a bigger supermarket, we got paid time & a half for both sundays & bank holidays.

Plus the owner (not the store manager as she is lovely) but the owner who is there every day of the week, is a complete thick ignorant b**tard, she always finds something to give out to people for. There are other things which i could say about the shop which are wrong but i won't.

But could people please tell me if it is against the law to pay staff minimum wage or not, and if so how is she able to get away with it? I was unemplyed for a long time so i don't want to start any trouble as any job is a job for me right now.
Also if there is any legal requirement of paying staff more money for working on sundays and/or bank holidays (i work mostly in the stockroom and packing shelves on the shop floor).

Cheers everyone.