The working time and minimum wage regulations apply to nearly all businesses. The working time regulations are normally enforced by the Health and Safety Executive and the Minimum Wage regulations by HMRC and you need to keep records to show compliance with the regulations. There can be severe penalties for breach of the regulations.
The starting point is that workers have a statutory right to a maximum average working week of 48 hours.
Workers are entitled to...
The National Minimum Wage (NMW) affects all businesses without exception.
The compulsory National Living Wage (NLW) is the national rate set for people aged 25 and over. The NLW is enforced by HMRC alongside the NMW, which they have enforced since its introduction in 1999.
Generally all those who are covered by the NMW, and are 25 years old and over, will be covered by the NLW. These include:
The NMW is the minimum pay per hour that most workers are entitled to receive by law. The rate to which they are entitled depends on a worker's age and whether they are an apprentice.
NMW rates from 1 April 2020 are as follows:
Payments that must be included when calculating the NMW are:
Some payments must not be included when the NMW is calculated.
These are:
There are a number of people who are not entitled to the NMW, including:
All other workers including pieceworkers, home workers, agency workers, commission workers, part-time workers and casual workers must receive at least the NMW.
It is not possible to opt-out from the national minimum wage.
If you need any further assistance with the working time regulations and national minimum wage please contact us.
Our monthly newsletter contains a round up of the latest tax news and updates of what's happening at Butterworths
As a subscriber you will automatically recieve our newsletter direct to your inbox