Are you ready for the National Living Wage?
The National Living Wage (NLW) will officially be compulsory from 1st April 2016 for all employees over 25 – it is time to make sure that you are ready and paying your employees the correct amount.
The National Minimum Wage (NMW) was officially introduced in April 1999 following the creation of the National Minimum Wage Act 1998, and has dictated the minimum hourly rate that adult workers in the UK are paid ever since.
However over recent years, there has been more focus on what is a reasonable wage for an individual to cover the basic costs of living, now known as the living wage.
Previously the option to pay the living wage was completely voluntary, but it is now being made a legal requirement alongside the NMW rules.
The living wage has been calculated as £8.25 outside of London and £9.40 for those living in London by the Living Wage Foundation, however the UK Government has set the living wage at £7.20 per hour to be applied as of April 2016.
If you employ staff it is essential that you ensure your payroll information and procedure is up-to-date and applies the NLW to all employees that are eligible.
If you would like to know how this may affect individual workers, there are a number of tools to calculate this, and the team at Harvey Telford & Bates Accountants are also on hand to help.
If you have any questions about the NLW, or would like to know more about the steps to take to implement it, why not book a meeting at our Shrewsbury office with our Payroll expert who can provide guidance or offer complete payroll management services so you will have nothing to worry about. Call 01743 462604 or email [email protected] today.
