Inept act reformed miserable wage (8)
I believe the answer is:
pittance
'miserable wage' is the definition.
(pittance can mean a small amount of money)
'inept act reformed' is the wordplay.
'reformed' indicates anagramming the letters.
'inept'+'act'='ineptact'
'ineptact' anagrammed gives 'PITTANCE'.
(Other definitions for pittance that I've seen before include "tiny amount" , "meagre payment" , "Miserable wage" , "minimum wage?" , "Small sum of money" .)