There’s no doubt that business owners and managers and indeed any employer have a multitude of rules and regulations to deal with aside from the actual business of doing business and making profits. Among those rules and regulations, it’s arguable that one of the most complex and possibly the most sensitive area is that of employment law.
From recruitment and redundancy processes to contracts it can at times feel like wading through treacle. It’s fair to say that much of it can be open to interpretation and consequently this adds to the level of risk.
However, perhaps one topic in particular is more straightforward than the others and that is the National Minimum Wage, officially known as the National Living Wage.
In short, the UK national minimum wage makes clear the lowest amount that workers above school leaving age can be paid by law.
The levels of pay are dependent on age, and from 1 April this year the minimum wage rose 9.7%.
An apprentice rate of 5.28 an hour applies to people under 19 or those over 19 in the first year of an apprenticeship. Anyone else also under 18 is entitled to the same amount.
The rates then broadly increase, with 18 to 20 year olds at 7.49 an hour, 21 to 22 at 10.18 an hour and those aged 23 and over at 10.42 an hour.
It’s not negotiable and as such every employer is expected know how much, at a minimum, they should be paying their workers.
Simple you...
President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and other Republican officials came together for a 2-day convention this week to rally voters in advance of the midterm elections in November. But ...