18/10: National Minimum Wage
Category: General
Posted by: administrator
National Minimum Wage
Dear member
You should be aware of new legislation that has come into effect from 1 October 2007 regarding the national minimum wage and also the minimum annual holiday entitlement, which has increased from 4 weeks (20 days for those working a 5 day week) to 4.8 weeks (24 days). On 1 April 2009 there will be a further increase to 28 days. It is important to remember that the new minimum annual leave entitlements, 24 days from 1 October 2007 and 28 days from 1 April 2009, include bank holidays. This means that any employer who already gives 20 days leave plus bank holidays will not be affected by the changes.
The following links to the HM Revenue & Customs national minimum wage Pages may be helpful to you.
Contents
Who can get the minimum wage?
What are the current rates of the national minimum wage?
What were the rates of national minimum wage in previous years?
What is HM Revenue & Customs involvement with the national minimum wage?
How does HM Revenue and Customs enforce the law?
Getting help with the national minimum wage
What can I do if I want to make a complaint about an employer not paying the minimum wage?
Useful Links
Privacy Statement
Who can get the minimum wage?
Most adult workers who:
Are working legally in the UK
Are not genuinely self-employed
Have a written, oral or implied contract
Apprentices
From pay reference periods starting on or after 1 October 2006 the special rules for apprentices will be extended to apprentices aged over 25. This will mean that:
Apprentices under age 19 will not qualify for the national minimum wage
Apprentices over age 19 and in the first 12 months of their apprenticeship will not qualify for the national minimum wage.
What are the current rates of the national minimum wage?
There are three levels of minimum wage, and the rates from 1st October 2007 are:
£5.52 per hour for workers aged 22 years and older
A development rate of £4.60 per hour for workers aged 18-21 inclusive
£3.40 per hour for all workers under the age of 18, who are no longer of compulsory school age.
Dear member
You should be aware of new legislation that has come into effect from 1 October 2007 regarding the national minimum wage and also the minimum annual holiday entitlement, which has increased from 4 weeks (20 days for those working a 5 day week) to 4.8 weeks (24 days). On 1 April 2009 there will be a further increase to 28 days. It is important to remember that the new minimum annual leave entitlements, 24 days from 1 October 2007 and 28 days from 1 April 2009, include bank holidays. This means that any employer who already gives 20 days leave plus bank holidays will not be affected by the changes.
The following links to the HM Revenue & Customs national minimum wage Pages may be helpful to you.
Contents
Who can get the minimum wage?
What are the current rates of the national minimum wage?
What were the rates of national minimum wage in previous years?
What is HM Revenue & Customs involvement with the national minimum wage?
How does HM Revenue and Customs enforce the law?
Getting help with the national minimum wage
What can I do if I want to make a complaint about an employer not paying the minimum wage?
Useful Links
Privacy Statement
Who can get the minimum wage?
Most adult workers who:
Are working legally in the UK
Are not genuinely self-employed
Have a written, oral or implied contract
Apprentices
From pay reference periods starting on or after 1 October 2006 the special rules for apprentices will be extended to apprentices aged over 25. This will mean that:
Apprentices under age 19 will not qualify for the national minimum wage
Apprentices over age 19 and in the first 12 months of their apprenticeship will not qualify for the national minimum wage.
What are the current rates of the national minimum wage?
There are three levels of minimum wage, and the rates from 1st October 2007 are:
£5.52 per hour for workers aged 22 years and older
A development rate of £4.60 per hour for workers aged 18-21 inclusive
£3.40 per hour for all workers under the age of 18, who are no longer of compulsory school age.
“Many small businesses seem to be unaware that they are breaking the law by not complying with adequate health and safety in their workplace.”
Small businesses - whether Turkish or not - have many things to contend with to stay competitive, in profit and in business.
But many small businesses seem to be unaware that they are breaking the law by not complying with adequate health and safety in their workplace.
While many bigger companies tend to have a fair indication of their responsibilities as employers, many small businesses feel health and safety is an unnecessary burden.
But the health and safety regulations are intended to protect the employer as well as employees and visitors to the place of business.
Preventing accidents at your workplace is in your company’s best interests and in these days of rampant compensation claims, it is more important than ever that your workplace complies with the law.
Controlling dangers at work is no different from tackling any other task – recognising the problem, knowing enough about it, deciding what to do and putting the solution into practice.
For starters, you must have a Health and Safety at Work Act (1974) poster pinned up in your workplace, together with your certificate for Employer Liability Insurance. First aid kits, accident log books, adequate fire protection and procedures on how you would evacuate your premises if need be are also vital.
If you have five or more employees, you must have a written health and safety policy which includes what may be considered hazardous and what you as an organisation must do to minimise the risks of someone getting hurt while on your premises.
If you store any kind of chemicals, for example dyes, bleaches, inks or cleaning solvents, you must keep a record of these in what is known as the Control of Substances Harmful or Hazardous to Health (COSHH Regulations).
You should also consider if an activity is likely to be harmful, is it possible for you to eliminate it completely or replace the work-based activity with something safer.
Of course, your health and safety should also be monitored and reviewed from time to time, to log changes in work practices or personnel. It’s no good having someone responsible for health and safety if they left the company three years ago.
The best source of information is the Health and Safety Executive website which offers extensive information (including in community languages such as Turkish) and many free downloads.
See www.hse.gov.uk to find out how your company can play it safe.
Small businesses - whether Turkish or not - have many things to contend with to stay competitive, in profit and in business.
But many small businesses seem to be unaware that they are breaking the law by not complying with adequate health and safety in their workplace.
While many bigger companies tend to have a fair indication of their responsibilities as employers, many small businesses feel health and safety is an unnecessary burden.
But the health and safety regulations are intended to protect the employer as well as employees and visitors to the place of business.
Preventing accidents at your workplace is in your company’s best interests and in these days of rampant compensation claims, it is more important than ever that your workplace complies with the law.
Controlling dangers at work is no different from tackling any other task – recognising the problem, knowing enough about it, deciding what to do and putting the solution into practice.
For starters, you must have a Health and Safety at Work Act (1974) poster pinned up in your workplace, together with your certificate for Employer Liability Insurance. First aid kits, accident log books, adequate fire protection and procedures on how you would evacuate your premises if need be are also vital.
If you have five or more employees, you must have a written health and safety policy which includes what may be considered hazardous and what you as an organisation must do to minimise the risks of someone getting hurt while on your premises.
If you store any kind of chemicals, for example dyes, bleaches, inks or cleaning solvents, you must keep a record of these in what is known as the Control of Substances Harmful or Hazardous to Health (COSHH Regulations).
You should also consider if an activity is likely to be harmful, is it possible for you to eliminate it completely or replace the work-based activity with something safer.
Of course, your health and safety should also be monitored and reviewed from time to time, to log changes in work practices or personnel. It’s no good having someone responsible for health and safety if they left the company three years ago.
The best source of information is the Health and Safety Executive website which offers extensive information (including in community languages such as Turkish) and many free downloads.
See www.hse.gov.uk to find out how your company can play it safe.
