The government introduced the National Living Wage from April 1, 2016. If you are an employer you need to take the necessary payroll action to ensure all workers over the age of 23 are being paid at least the minimum wage.
By law, your employer must pay a minimum amount on average for the hours you work. This is called the:
- National Living Wage (NLW) if you're aged 23 or over
- National Minimum Wage (NMW) if you're aged under 23 or an apprentice
Full details are available from GOV.UK.
Further information is available at the following links:
It is a criminal offence for an employer not to pay an employee the national minimum wage or to falsify payment records. At any time HMRC officers have the right to carry out an inspection and ask to see payment records.
If HMRC finds an employer that is not paying an employee correctly, any arrears will need to be paid immediately, along with a fine charge and a possible name and shame via the Government.
To ensure that you are paying staff correctly, follow these 4 simple steps:
- Check you know who is eligible in your organisation. Find out on GOV. UK’s employment status page.
- Take the appropriate payroll action. For useful HMRC tutorial guidance.click here.
- Let your staff know about their new pay rate.
- Check your staff under 25 are earning at least the right rate of National Minimum Wage.
For a step by step guide to Employing someone visit GOV.UK.
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