National Minimum and National Living Wage 2017

Having read the article 'Employers Face Jail Over Minimum Wage' recently in The Times, I wanted to write this post to discuss the implications for employers when it comes to complying with the 2017 National Minimum and Living Wage rules. 

With Sir David Metcalf, a founding member of the Low Pay Commission (LPC) appointing his first director of the labour market enforcement, employers should ensure they are complying with the National Minimum and National Living Wage rules. 

Ignorance is not an excuse and can be very costly to the employer, offer an unfair competitive advantage for those that do pay, compared to those who don’t and, it exploits the employees. Armstrong Watson prides itself on trying to ensure all its clients are complying with these laws, but there is a potential risk; a payroll provider cannot assist the client if the employer only reports a set weekly/monthly payment amount, but without the hours worked. There is no way for a bureau to check that the hourly rate v the amount of pay is equal to the NMW or NLW rates. If you are unsure of how your bureau can help you, please contact your service provider, or your payroll department to ensure adequate checks are in place. If you want to re-visit the legislation help can be found here.