There is no doubt that the authorities are stepping up their game against businesses who are not paying their staff the National Living Wage. Recently 50 businesses in the hospitality sector, including two fish and chip shops, have been targeted by H.M. Revenue & Customs resulting in the businesses being censored and fined.
So to protect your business , as business owners you need to make sure that you are paying your team the National Living Wage where your employees are aged 25 and over (below that age the National Minimum wage applies).
Currently, the rates you need to be paying employees is shown below: –
| Age | Hourly pay rate |
| 25 & over | £7.50 |
| 21 – 24 | £7.05 |
| 18 – 20 | £5.60 |
| 16 – 17 | £4.05 |
Rates are set to rise again in April 2018.
Where H.M. Revenue & Customs discover that a business is paying its staff below the required rates they issue a notice of underpayment requiring the employer to pay the arrears to the employees and they usually levy a penalty in addition. The penalty can be as much as 200% of the underpayment with a minimum penalty charge of £100 and a maximum charge of £20,000.
Our advice therefore is to steer clear of trouble and review your pay rates to make sure that you are paying at least the minimum rates or above.
