Employers – don’t be caught out with employee payments!

I am sure everyone out there has received a payslip or pay cheque from an employer in the past and thought “that doesn’t seem right!” or “I thought it was going to be more than that!”

More often than not, it was the tax or national insurance which took those extra few precious pounds.

But what happens if in fact you are being paid too little? Well, your employer could end up being named and shamed for breaching the National Minimum Wage requirements.

For employers as well as employees, the question of paying the right wage has never been more important. Rewarding employees with a rate commensurate for their contribution to your business is non-negotiable.

The introduction of the National Minimum Wage (almost 20 years ago in 1999), and more recently the National Living Wage, have meant that employees are now getting paid in a more consistent manner with employers taking a responsible role in ensuring employees are getting paid the right amount.

We have recently worked with several new clients who have been selected for a National Minimum Wage inspection. We have helped these new clients by carrying out our own independent NMW test and reporting the results to our client in advance of the official visit.

Most of our test results were in line with the requirements of the legislation; we were also able to highlight issues where non-compliance can arise which include:
• Employees buying their own safety gear and boots for site work – these items are essential for work and must be deducted from gross pay when calculating the hourly rate;
• Handover time – nursing staff arriving on duty “early” to take handover report. This time has to be taken into account when calculating the hourly rate;
• Standby hours – time when on standby or on call cannot be ignored for working hours calculation.
• Training time is also included in working hours;
• Tips cannot be included when calculating if staff earn the minimum wage – even if tips are pooled and divided among all staff.
• Don’t forget about former employees. Workers who have left your employment are also entitled to any arrears due – but there is a six-year time limit on arrears payable and on making a claim.

If you would like us to visit your premises and run our NMW check, contact Karen on 028 8772 4697.