Archive for the ‘National Minimum Wage’ Category
By Emma - Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008
This is my first day at PJH Law and I have the honour of writing what I hope will be the first of many blogs.
The Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) recently announced new rates for the minimum wage from 1 October 2008. The new rates are:
Workers aged 22 and over - £5.73 per hour
Workers aged 18-21 - £4.77 per hour
Workers aged 16-17 - £3.53 per hour
Accommodation offset - £4.46 per day (£31.22 per week)
Employers should ensure these increases are implemented on or before 1 October 2008 and no doubt we’ll remind you with a further blog nearer the time. More information can be found here
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By Liam - Friday, November 16th, 2007
The EAT have recently considered the issue of whether an apprentice hairdresser was entitled to be paid the National Minimum Wage in HMRC v Rinaldi-Tranter. Rinaldi-Tranter worked for a Salon and was paid a training allowance of £50 per week. She also undertook training at college and was released from her duties for this purpose.
The National Minimum Wage Act expressly excludes first year apprentices from the NMW. However, second year apprentices can fall within the protection of the NMW if they are workers. The EAT in Rinaldi-Tranter held the apprentice was a worker.
The EAT was careful to point out that it had not decided that apprentices fall or do not fall within the protection of the NMW - the case was decided on the basis that the apprentice was a worker on the facts. However, it would seem that it will frequently occur that apprentices do enough work personally for their trainer to be classified as a worker and hence qualify for the MNW.
Employers taking on apprentices for more than a year beware - can you afford to pay your apprentice the NMW?
Posted in National Minimum Wage | 4 comments »
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By Philip - Wednesday, November 14th, 2007
Well it’s a very light news day today. The only point of interest is that the DTI (or the more snappily titled Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform or BERR for the acronym minded) is running a series of regional roadshows and awareness campaigns, targeting low paid industry sectors. The aim of the initiative is to remind employees of their rights and employers of their responsibilities. The right and responsibility in question is the right to be paid the national minimum wage (or NMW for acronym collectors).
Coupled with this awareness campaign is a coded warning that the enforcement teams will be baring their teeth a little longer and stronger in future. Scrooge employers out there you have been warned.
The enforcement teams could do worse than get out to the fields and factories of the fens, where our east european comrades are breaking their backs and busting their b**ls for wages as low as £2.00 per hour ( or so plenty of clients tell me.)Whether that £2.00 per hour is the genuine free market rate for the job in hand or Rachman-like exploitation by the employer, you the reader can comment on in the comments section below.
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By Sarah - Monday, October 1st, 2007
Today marks the second date of changes in the employment law calendar.
From today the National Minimum Wage for over 22’s is £5.52 (up from £5.35). The development rate for 18-21’s is £4.60 (up from £4.45) and the development rate for 16-17 year olds is £3.40 (up from £3.30).
The new rules on statutory minimum holiday also take effect from today so that the minimum holday entitlement is 24 days including bank holidays.
The next date for the bi-annual changes in the employment calendar will be 1st April 2007.
Posted in Holidays, National Minimum Wage | No comments »
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By Liam - Wednesday, July 18th, 2007
The Government has now published its draft legislative programme (see chapter 5) which outlines new statutes that are likely to be put before parliament in the near future. Fans of the Statutory Grievance Procedure and Statutory Dismissal Procedure will be disappointed as these are likely to be repealed. The draft programme does not say with what they will be replaced, but this has been the subject of consultation which closed in June (http://www.dti.gov.uk/consultations/page38508.html) so the outcome of the consultation should be published soon.
There will also be some changes to the enforcement regime for the National Minimum Wage and for the Regulation of Employment Agencies.
Posted in Government Publications, Miscellaneous, National Minimum Wage, Statutory Procedures | 1 comment »
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By Liam - Friday, April 27th, 2007
The EAT have held in BLACKFORD FARMS LTD v MR C MULQUEENEY that a failure to pay the NMW can be brought as a breach of contract claim or as a deduction from wages claim. This confirms that employers’ liability for such claims could date back as far as 6 years rather than the three months that would apply to most Tribunal claims (subject to time extensions in specific circumstances).
The EAT also emphasised that ET1 forms should make it clear under what cause of action a claim is brought (deductions or breach of contract). In this case, the claim was held to have been brought as a deductions claim as the Claimant had not made it clear that it was intended to be a breach of contract claim. The claim was therefore out of time.
Posted in Breach of Contract, Employment Tribunal Procedure, National Minimum Wage | No comments »
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By Philip - Wednesday, March 7th, 2007
NMW up to £5.52 from £5.35 effective October 2007.Read more here
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By Philip - Monday, February 19th, 2007
In a landmark ruling the Court of Appeal has said that some workers at the Butlins and Haven holiday camps have received less than the minimum wage. The case was brought by Revenue and Customs of all people and means that workers are in line to win back-pay totalling over £1 million! The Court found that up to 10,000 seasonal workers such as bar staff were each charged £6 a fortnight for gas and electricity when they lived on site between 2004 and 2005. As they were paid so low the deduction meant that they got less than the minimum wage and this breached the NMW regulations. Revenue and Customs have warned that this could have wider implications for all workers in similar circumstances. Not to state the obvious of course!
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By Philip - Tuesday, January 9th, 2007
Clients out there who sail close to the minimum wage wind will be interested to know that the DTI is proposing stealth taxes penalty notices for those employers caught not paying the NMW. All the details are here. A penalty notice will bite if employers do not comply with an enforcement notice to pay arrears of pay. The minimum penalty notice is £227.00 per employee. Money collected from penalty notices go straight into HMG’s “consolidation” fund. Arrears go to the employee.
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