COMPANIES which cut staff benefits in order to pay the national living wage will be pressured to fulfil their moral obligations, a business minister has said.

Conservative frontbencher Nick Boles said there is "simply no excuse" for larger firms seeking to "evade" the impact of the new minimum wage for workers over the age of 25.

He argued support - including cuts to corporation tax and business rates - has been developed to help them cope, although he cautioned against criticism of small firms which do not preserve all benefits immediately given the alternative may result in workers being fired.

Mr Boles urged MPs to inform the Government of profitable businesses which are trying to "evade the spirit" of the new laws so pressure can be applied upon them.

MPs used a Commons debate to criticise firms, including B&Q, Bradgate Bakery, Morrisons, Eat and Cafe Nero, which have responded to the new wage rate by developing new terms and conditions for employees.

Labour MP Joan Ryan said some businesses have sought to scrap double-time on Sundays and bank holidays, seasonal bonuses and other allowances following the implementation of the Government's plan to ensure adults aged 25 and over receive £7.20 an hour.

Ministers aim to increase this hourly rate to £9 by 2020.

Mr Boles said he would not start naming firms which are failing to maintain existing benefits in the Commons.

But he praised Labour's Siobhain McDonagh (Mitcham and Morden) and Business Minister Anna Soubry, who have dealt with concerns related to B&Q, noting the company has shifted its position.

MPs heard B&Q has extended the period of compensation for staff members who were due to lose out from 12 months to 24 months.

B&Q added its basic hourly rate for all staff is £7.66.

Speaking during a backbench debate on the national living wage, Mr Boles said: "I know other companies will shift their position if the spotlight falls on them."

He added to MPs: "Please bring to me, to (Ms Soubry) any case of a company who seems to be trying to evade the spirit of this legislation in a way that is unreasonable, a company that is profitable, that will be benefiting from the dramatic cut in corporation tax, a company that will be benefiting from the employer allowance or from the cut in business rates.

"Bring those cases to me and I promise you that we will use the full force of our office, little though it sometimes feels, to put pressure on those companies to live up not only to the legal obligations, which are our job in making legislation in this House, but to their moral obligations, which are the ones that we feel matter a great deal more."

Earlier, Mr Boles said there are small employers which will find it difficult under the new system.

He said: "I do not want to criticise them for an instant if they are not able immediately to be able to ensure that every aspect of the conditions of an employee are preserved in full.

"Because if the alternative is to actually fire some people then I'd think we'd all agree we'd prefer to have more people being paid the legal national living wage than actually losing their jobs.

"But where I am clear is that for larger employers there is simply no excuse to be trying to evade the effect of the national living wage in increasing people's earnings by cutting other benefits and other premiums."

Moving the debate, Ms Ryan (Enfield North) said: "Bradgate, like B&Q found an opportunity to save money, so the bakery has changed staff terms and conditions to phase out double pay for Sundays by 2019.

"This means that while employees on national minimum wage earned £13.78 per hour last month, by 2019 they will earn just £9 per hour - that's the national living wage according to Bradgate Bakery.

"Extra pay for night shifts, Saturdays and overtime are also being scaled back and what this means in sum is that Bradgate workers are being sold a lie, they are told their pay is increasing but what the Government is giving with one hand, Bradgate is taking with another."

Ms Ryan went on: "There is an industry-wide problem - huge supermarket retailers like Morrisons cut their staff pay back months ago to little media attention."

Conservative Philip Davies described the national living wage as an "intellectual nonsense" because workers all face different living costs depending on where they live and other factors.

The Shipley MP, who previously worked for Asda, said: "The fact of the matter is that the vast majority of businesses in this country are small and medium-sized enterprises and many of those businesses, and I advise you to go around your constituency, speak to a few shop owners down your local high street, you will actually find that many of those businesses are struggling to earn a living."

A motion warning the wage changes have left thousands of low-paid workers "significantly worse off" and calling on the Government to ensure they are protected was passed unopposed.