HR Professional Maureen Lindberg
Maureen Lindberg, Professional People Management
The mandatory National Living Wage arrives on 1st April, 2016 and employers need to make sure they’re ready for it.
The National Living Wage is an extension of the National Minimum Wage – adding an extra level for older employees.
Employees aged 25 or over must be paid at least £7.20 an hour from 1 April. The aim is that this figure will rise to over £9 an hour by 2020.
The National Living Wage should not be confused with the Living Wage calculated by the Living Wage Foundation which is a voluntary hourly rate set independently and updated annually according to the basic cost of living in the UK. The current Living Wage is £8.25 an hour for the UK, increasing to £9.40 for London.
The team at Professional People Management can help
As this is a statutory right of employees, employers need to comply with it by;
- Know the rate (£7.20 an hour for employees aged 25 or over)
- Check which staff will be eligible
- Update your payroll before 1 April 2016
- Tell staff about any changes to their pay
The government plans to enforce this by the use of fines and “naming and shaming” employers who do not comply.