October 01, 2010
National Minimum Wage rates and age bands will apply from 1st October 2010 as follows:
- £5.93 for workers aged 21 and over (up from £5.80);
- £4.92 for workers aged 18-20; (up from £4.83) and
- £3.64 for workers aged 16-17 (up from £3.57).
There is also a new minimum wage rate of £2.50 per hour for apprentices who are either under 19 or in their first year of apprenticeship. Further details about the National Minimum Wage are available from www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees
Where the NMW applies to your employment, you are entitled to receive that amount, even if you have signed a contract to state that you will be paid less than this. The contract will have no force. Employers are required to keep detailed records to prove that they have been paying NMW. Workers are entitled to make a request to see these records at any time, and can complain to either an Employment Tribunal or HMRC for any failure by the employer to produce the records within 14 days of the request. Failures by the employer to pay the NMW can result in automatic penalties ranging from £100 to £5,000 depending on the scale of the offence.
Where your employer provides accommodation with your employment, an accommodation offset can be applied to your wage. This rate will apply, even if you are charged a different amount by your employer as rent. Full details about this, and how to calculate the offset, are set out at http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/TheNationalMinimumWage/DG_175108
Other important changes to employment law include the Equality Act 2010, which will come into force as from 1st October. This act consolidates the law on discrimination in a number of respects. It also extends discrimination law to cover perception discrimination (where for example, it is assumed that someone is gay, but they are actually not, but suffer discrimination in the workplace on the basis of the assumption) and discrimination by association. This will mean that it will become unlawful to discriminate against someone for example because they care for someone who would be covered by discrimination laws. This will cover the example of someone who looks after a disabled person, but suffers discrimination because of that. It outlaws pre-employment questions about health issues, in most circumstances. Further details about the Equality Act are available from
http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=3017
Lastly, the Government is in consultation about whether or not to remove the Default Retirement Age, which would mean that it would no longer be possible to make employees retire at aged 65. It is anticipated that, if adopted, the change will take effect from 1st April 2011.
This article was written by Debra Wetters, Solicitor in the Employment Law Department of Spratt Endicott Solicitors. If you require more information on this or other aspects of Employment Law, please contact Debra on 01295 204000, email dwetters@se-law.co.uk.
