Last week we published details of who is, and who is not, entitled to payment at National Minimum Wage rates. This week we have listed the current rates of NMW that apply.
There are currently three aged based national minimum wage rates and an apprentice rate, which are usually updated in October each year. The rates that apply from 1 October 2013 are as follows:
- for workers aged 21 years or more: £6.31 per hour
- for workers aged 18 to 20 inclusive: £5.03 per hour
- for workers aged under 18 (but above compulsory school age): £3.72 per hour
- for apprentices aged under 19: £2.68 per hour
- for apprentices aged 19 and over, but in the first year of their apprenticeship: £2.68 per hour
Apprentices aged 19 or over who have completed one year of their apprenticeship are entitled to receive the national minimum wage rate applicable to their age.
Note for employers:
Don’t forget that it’s a criminal offence not to pay someone the National Minimum Wage or to falsify payment records. Employers who discover they’ve paid a worker below the minimum wage must pay any arrears immediately.
HMRC officers have the right to carry out checks at any time and ask to see payment records. They can also investigate employers, following a worker’s complaint to them. If HMRC finds that an employer hasn’t been paying the correct rates, any arrears have to be paid back immediately. There will also be a penalty and offenders might be named by the government.
It’s the employer’s responsibility to keep records proving that they are paying the minimum wage – most employers use their payroll records as proof. All records have to be kept for 3 years.