Increase in the national minimum wage rate (all UK)

Employers that pay workers and/or apprentices the national minimum wage

Takes effect on
1 October 2011

From 1 October 2011, new national minimum wage (NMW) rates will apply.

The NMW applies to nearly all workers and sets hourly rates below which you must not allow pay to fall.

For pay reference periods (PRPs) beginning on or after 1 October 2011, you will have to pay all eligible workers the following:

  • £6.08an hour to workers aged 21 and above
  • £4.98an hour to workers aged 18-20
  • £3.68 an hour to workers aged below 18 who are no longer of compulsory school age

Entitlement to the NMW for apprentices

For PRPs beginning on or after 1 October 2011, you will have to pay at least £2.60 an hour to apprentices who are:

  • under the age of 19
  • aged 19 or over and in the first 12 months of their apprenticeship

To qualify to receive the NMW, the apprentice must either:

  • work under a contract of apprenticeship
  • be employed on a government-funded training scheme that is treated as an apprenticeship for NMW purposes

The daily accommodation offset

You will be able to offset from the NMW an amount of £4.73 per day for each day that you provide a worker with living accommodation.

Full title of regulation

National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Regulations 2011 – SI 2011/2345

Source: nibusinessinfo.com