You may have heard the term national living wage thrown around in the news, but what is it and as an employer do you have to pay it?
The good news for workers recently, were the changes in national minimum wage rates, these are rates that employers legally have to pay. These currently sit at:
£8.21 per hour for ages 25 and over.
£7.70 per hour for ages 21 to 24.
£6.15 per hour for ages 18 to 20.
£4.35 per hour for school leaving age to 17.
£3.90 per hour for apprentices.
There are a few exception to these rules. If you are self-employed, you are a volunteer, company director, work experience students are a few types of workers where the standard rule do not apply.
Whilst you may be celebrating from the up in rate and the change in personal allowance, don't forget council taxes and pension contributions have risen, so we may not feel better off.
So what is the national living wage. This is not a compulsory rate for your employer to give to you and hand in hand you do not have to give this to employees. It is a rate set by the living wage foundation, which they believe is a true rate which would cover the minimum people need to live on. This currently sits at £9 an hour or £10.55 if you live in London.
If you are an employer in Redruth, Camborne, Truro or other parts of Cornwall and would like to make sure you comply to changes in legislation or you would like to outsource your payroll, please get in touch to see how Tidal Bookkeeping Cornwall payroll bureau can help.
The information featured in this article is for guidance only, no liability is accepted for the opinions it contains.