National Minimum Wage
Employment Bill
The Employment Bill is currently being debated in Parliament. The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) consulted widely on the measures in the Bill during 2007 and the national minimum wage provisions have generally been welcomed by business and workers’ representatives alike. Subject to Parliamentary approval, the Bill is due to receive Royal Assent by summer 2008 and the national minimum wage provisions are expected to come into force on 1 October 2008.
The Bill’s proposed amendments to national minimum wage legislation will introduce:
- a fairer method of calculating arrears for workers
- new civil penalties for non compliance
- new inspection powers for officers
- changes to the criminal regime
- an exemption for Cadet Force Adult Volunteers
The new method of calculating arrears will ensure workers who have not been paid national minimum wage on time will be entitled to have the underpayment made good and may also be entitled to an additional amount, determined by a formula set out in the legislation, which takes into account the length of time that arrears have been outstanding. BERR will be issuing guidance to employers and workers later in 2008 and is currently working with stakeholders to ensure effective implementation of the new enforcement regime.
Enforcement in the hotel sector
The third targeted minimum wage enforcement campaign is now underway, this time focusing on the hotel sector. The enabling phase which commenced in May 2007 is still running but HMRC’s NMW enforcement teams have now embarked on the enforcement phase through a programme of visits. The aim of the campaign is to enable employers to comply with minimum wage legislation and to tackle those employers who do not. The campaign will be widened to cover the hospitality sector later in the year.
