Me and my partner were asked to help out at a Hotel In Devon after there had been a bereavement. I am 56 and my partner is 53. We went, and whilst there they gave us a letter asking us to stay for 3 more months. They offered accommodation and some food. So we did, whilst they were sorting out their affairs because one of the owners had died. Well the 3 months became 2 years, and after the first year working long days sometimes over 12 hours 7 days a week, i said we shouldn't work for more than 40 hours. They offered at the beginning a payment of £250, so £125 each a month, which they sometimes put into my bank account and sometimes gave us cash. In Retrospect and during we felt used not valued and somehow obligated to assist them whilst they decided what they were going to do with the place. Local people thought we were the owners as we did so much. From office work to bookings to cleaning to waitressing to gardening to running events. Many times the owners went off and me and my partner were left to run the place with the paid staff. They are now selling it. We left there end of October 2015. What I want to know is can we retrospectively seek payment after the event, as I was informed that because we received monthly payments then legally we should of been paid minimum wages and that means they were avoiding their responsibilities as employers.
Thanks
Thanks
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