Tag: National Living Wage

National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates

Who gets the minimum wage?

Read the information on who is entitled to the minimum wage.

You can use the minimum wage calculator to check whether the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage is being paid.

Contact Acas if you’re not getting the National Minimum Wage and think you should be.

These rates are for the National Living Wage (for those aged 21 and over) and the National Minimum Wage (for those of at least school leaving age). The rates change on 1 April every year.

	21 and over	18 to 20	Under 18	Apprentice
April 2024 (current rate)	£11.44	£8.60	£6.40	£6.40
April 2025	£12.21	£10.00	£7.55	£7.55

Apprentices

Apprentices are entitled to the apprentice rate if they’re either:

aged under 19
aged 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship

Example

An apprentice aged 21 in the first year of their apprenticeship is entitled to a minimum hourly rate of £6.40

Apprentices are entitled to the minimum wage for their age if they both:

are aged 19 or over
have completed the first year of their apprenticeship

Example

An apprentice aged 21 who has completed the first year of their apprenticeship is entitled to a minimum hourly rate of £11.44

National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates

The government reviews minimum wage rates every year and they’re usually updated in April. Check when rate increases must be paid.

From 1 April 2024, workers aged 21 and over will be entitled to the National Living Wage.

	21 and over	18 to 20	Under 18	Apprentice
April 2024	£11.44	£8.60	£6.40	£6.40

It’s against the law for an employer to pay less than the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage.
They also must keep accurate pay records and make them available when requested.
If an employer has not been paying the correct minimum wage, they should resolve the problem as soon as possible.
The employer must also resolve any backdated non-payment of minimum wage. This is even if the employee or worker no longer works for them.

It’s against the law for an employer to pay less than the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage.
They also must keep accurate pay records and make them available when requested.
If an employer has not been paying the correct minimum wage, they should resolve the problem as soon as possible. The employer must also resolve any backdated non-payment of minimum wage. This is even if the employee or worker no longer works for them.

It’s against the law for an employer to pay less than the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage.
They also must keep accurate pay records and make them available when requested.
If an employer has not been paying the correct minimum wage, they should resolve the problem as soon as possible.
The employer must also resolve any backdated non-payment of minimum wage. This is even if the employee or worker no longer works for them.

ACAS has more information here

Who is entitled to Minimum Wage?

People classed as ‘workers’ must be at least school leaving age to get the National Minimum Wage. They must be 23 or over to get the National Living Wage.

Contracts for payments below the minimum wage are not legally binding. The worker is still entitled to the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage.

Workers are also entitled to the correct minimum wage if they’re:

part-time
casual labourers, for example someone hired for one day
agency workers
workers and homeworkers paid by the number of items they make
apprentices
trainees, workers on probation
disabled workers
agricultural workers
foreign workers
seafarers
offshore workers

Apprentices

Apprentices are entitled to the apprentice rate if they’re either:

under 19
19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship

Apprentices over 19 who have completed the first year of their apprenticeship are entitled to the correct minimum wage for their age.

Not entitled to the minimum wage

The following types of workers are not entitled to the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage:

self-employed people running their own business
company directors
people who are volunteers or voluntary workers
workers on a government employment programme, such as the Work Programme
members of the armed forces
family members of the employer living in the employer’s home
non-family members living in the employer’s home who share in the work and leisure activities, are treated as one of the family and are not charged for meals or accommodation, for example au pairs
workers younger than school leaving age (usually 16)
higher and further education students on work experience or a work placement up to one year
people shadowing others at work
workers on government pre-apprenticeships schemes
people on the following European Union (EU) programmes: Leonardo da Vinci, Erasmus+, Comenius
people working on a Jobcentre Plus Work trial for up to 6 weeks
share fishermen
prisoners
people living and working in a religious community

Employers who offer internships (sometimes called ‘work placements’ or ‘work experience’) should check if the person is entitled to the minimum wage.

Voluntary work

You’re classed as doing voluntary work if you can only get certain limited benefits (for example reasonable travel or lunch expenses) and you’re working for a:

charity
voluntary organisation or associated fundraising body
statutory body

Contact the Acas helpline to find out if you should be getting the minimum wage.

National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates

These rates are for the National Living Wage (for those aged 23 and over) and the National Minimum Wage (for those of at least school leaving age). The rates change on 1 April every year.

Current rates from April 1st 2022

	23 and over	21 to 22	18 to 20	Under 18	Apprentice
April 2022	£9.50	£9.18	£6.83	£4.81	£4.81

The hourly rate for the minimum wage depends on your age and whether you’re an apprentice. You must be at least:

school leaving age to get the National Minimum Wage
aged 23 to get the National Living Wage – the minimum wage will still apply for workers aged 22 and under

Apprentices

Apprentices are entitled to the apprentice rate if they’re either:

aged under 19
aged 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship

Who gets the minimum wage

Read the information on who is entitled to the minimum wage.

You can use the minimum wage calculator to check whether the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage is being paid.

Contact Acas if you’re not getting the National Minimum Wage and think you should be.

National Living and Minimum Wage Rates Increase April 2021

The Government announced at the end of November 2020 the National Living Wage (NLW) and National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates which will come into force from April 2021.

It accepted in full recommendations made by the Low Pay Commission at the end of October 2020

The National Living Wage, ie for those aged 25 and over, will increase by 2.2 per cent from £8.72 to £8.91, and will be extended to 23 and 24 year olds for the first time.

For workers aged under 23, Commissioners recommended smaller increases in recognition of the risks to youth employment which the current economic situation poses.

	Rate from April 2020	Rate from April 2021	Increase
National Living Wage	£8.72	£8.91	2.2%
21-22 Year Old Rate	£8.20	£8.36	2.0%
18-20 Year Old Rate	£6.45	£6.56	1.7%
16-17 Year Old Rate	£4.55	£4.62	1.5%
Apprentice Rate	£4.15	£4.30	3.6%
Accommodation Offset	£8.20	£8.36	2.0%

You can read the Low Pay Commission 2020 summary of findings here

A Reminder of Wage Changes from April 2019

A reminder to you all that the changes to the National Living Wage and National Minimum wage take effect from April 2019.

The hourly rate for the minimum wage depends the employee’s age and whether they are an apprentice.

The rates are as follows:

Year	25 and over	21 to 24	18 to 20	Under 18	Apprentice
April 2018 (current rate)	£7.83	£7.38	£5.90	£4.20	£3.70
April 2019	£8.21	£7.70	£6.15	£4.35	£3.90

Autumn Budget Statement 2018

National Living Wage & National Minimum Wage:

The government has set a target for the NLW to reach 60% of median earnings by 2020 (subject to sustained economic growth).

Announcements in the Budget include:

Increasing the NLW by 4.9% from £7.83 to £8.21 from April 2019, which will benefit around 2.4 million workers

Accepting recent recommendations by the Low Pay Commission to increase NMW rates from April 2019 as follows:

Increasing the rate for 21 to 24 year olds by 4.3% from £7.38 to £7.70 per hour
Increasing the rate for 18 to 20 year olds by 4.2% from £5.90 to £6.15 per hour
increasing the rate for 16 to 17 year olds by 3.6% from £4.20 to £4.35 per hour
increasing the rate for apprentices by 5.4% from £3.70 to £3.90 per hour

National Minimum Wage Changes

The hourly rate for the minimum wage depends on your age and whether you’re an apprentice.

You must be at least:

school leaving age to get the National Minimum Wage
aged 25 to get the National Living Wage – the minimum wage will still apply for workers aged 24 and under

These rates are for the National Living Wage and the National Minimum Wage. The rates change every April.

Year	25 and over	21 to 24	18 to 20	Under 18	Apprentice
April 2017 (current)	£7.50	£7.05	£5.60	£4.05	£3.50
April 2018	£7.83	£7.38	£5.90	£4.20	£3.70

More detailed information can be found here

Rise in Employment Allowance

GOOD NEWS FOR EMPLOYERS

Businesses will have their employer National Insurance bill cut by another £1,000 from April 2016, as the Employment Allowance rises from £2,000 to £3,000. The Employment Allowance gives businesses and charities a cut in the employer National Insurance they pay.

This means that businesses and charities will be able to employ 4 people full time on the National Living Wage and pay no National Insurance at all.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/summer-budget-2015-key-announcements

Reminder!!! National Living Wage

ARE YOU READY?

In only two weeks’ time, that is on 1^st April 2016, the Government’s new National Living Wage will become LAW.

If you’re working and aged 25 or over and not in the first year of an apprenticeship, you’ll be legally entitled to at least £7.20 per hour.

If you’re an employer, you’ll need to make sure you’re paying your staff correctly from 1^st April 2016, as the National Living Wage will be enforced as strongly as the current National Minimum Wage – which still applies to those aged under 25

You can find out more by clicking here – there are sections for Workers and Employers to find out who is eligible.