As of 1 April 2024, the National Minimum Wage (NMW) increased to:
- 21 and over: £11.44 (from £10.42). The age has also been reduced to 21 years (rather than the previous 23 years) old and over.
- 18 to 20: £8.60 (from £7.49).
- Under 18: £6.40 (from £5.28).
- Apprentice: £6.40 (from £5.28).
Additionally, statutory payments have also increased. Statutory Sick Pay is £116.75 from 06 April 2024. From 07 April, statutory maternity, adoption, paternity, shared parental and parental bereavement leave pay increased to £184.03 or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings if this is less than the statutory rate.
Why does this matter?
This is particularly important if you employ people on national minimum wage, but it is also important if anyone is on statutory leave. If you have a third party doing your payroll, you will want to ensure that they action these payments correctly – delegating this task is not an excuse for a failure to pay correctly.
What advice and guidance is there for employers to ensure that they are paying their staff correctly?
- Keep records – make sure that you have accurate time sheets which reflect what hours people have actually worked, rather than what hours they had agreed to work.
- Check those records regularly, perhaps have an audit once a month of a handful of example timesheets, to see whether they are being accurately completed.
- There are electronic recording systems – they may be much more consistent and better if you have a lot of staff to monitor, especially to notify you when someone’s birthday takes them into a new NMW bracket.
- Make sure that your employment contract is clear on the obligations to record time accurately – that way you have recourse if part of your issue is employees not accurately recording their time.
- Stress the importance of good records to management- they need to understand why this is so important and what the consequences are of them not enforcing or checking timesheets adequately
- Consider if any proposed deductions from wages will take staff below NMW
How can Thrive help?
We can help you understand your National Minimum Wage obligations, ensuring you comply accurately. Contact us.
Disclaimer
Please note this blog is for reference purposes only and is only accurate at which the date it was published. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. Specific Legal advice about your specific circumstances should always be sought separately before taking or deciding not to take any actions. Please contact us if you have any questions on enquiries@thrivelaw.co.uk.
