New Year, New Changes
The New Year welcomes changes both personal and professional for workers and clients in all industries. A change that happens every year is the national minimum wage structure, with 2024 changes being far from the usual.
National Minimum wage changes
Along with each annual review comes an increase, normally announced in the November prior. However, 2024’s minimum wage increases will not be the norm, with the structure of bandings changing.
The highest rate of the NMW structure, also known as the National Living Wage, is for those workers that are aged 23 and over. For those who are 21 and 22, there is a separate lower rate. However, from April 2024 the rate for 21 and 22 year olds will change and be moved up into the national living wage band.
The new rates from April 2024 will be as follows:
Notational Living Wage (21+): £11.44 PH
Aged 18-20: £8.60 PH
Over compulsory school age but not yet 18: £6.40 PH
Apprentices aged under 19, or 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship: £6.40 PH
Be sure you meet the requirements
It’s imperative that as a business you stay up to date with the latest rates and adjust pay accordingly. If employers fail to meet the minimum wage payments correctly, they may face severe consequences such as:
- Pay the worker what they should have been paid (plus an uplift if the underpayment is old)
- Their business name and details will be published on the internet
- They will be fined 200% times the underpayment
- The employer may been taken to court by HMRC on behalf of the worker
In 2023 HMRC named over 200 employers for failing to pay their lowest paid staff the national minimum wage for the following reasons:
- 39% of employers deducted pay from workers’ wages
- 39% of employers failed to pay correctly for their working time
- 21% of employers paid the incorrect apprenticeship rate
Although some may be unintentional, HMRC are strict with its guidelines on employers ensuring employees are correctly paid, so ensure you are up to date on their guidelines on the .gov website. Be sure to keep note of employee’s birthdays, as you may miss when they are due and increase!
