Search News

Results: 1-10 of 1048


Start again

22 Mar 2024

Rob Brown, co-director of Dalby Forest Cycle Hub, a not-for-profit hire scheme has been nominated for the Tourism Superstar 2024 award, run by VisitEngland.

21 Mar 2024

ACS (The Association of Convenience Stores) and the Federation of Independent Retailers (The Fed) have both welcomed a new report published by the Association of Police and Crime...

21 Mar 2024

As reported by Healthstores UK, new data contained in the 2024 Soil Association Organic Market report shows that independent retailers delivered an impressive 10% growth in 2023, with...

21 Mar 2024

An independent bottle shop and bar in Cheltenham has been named as the UK's Independent Beer and Wine Retailer of the Year 2024 at the Drinks Retailing Awards. 

21 Mar 2024

A number of organisations, including Bira (the British Independent Retailers’ Association), other trade associations, BIDs and unions have met with officials from the Welsh Government to...

21 Mar 2024

The British Independent Retailers’ Association (Bira) has reacted to data released by PwC and the Local Data Company exploring the state of the UK retail landscape.

8 Mar 2024

Daniel Blackham, editor of industry magazine BikeBiz, has been writing about his experience of completing the Cytech technical one qualification at training provider Spokes People in Milton...

6 Mar 2024

Cytech partner Activate Cycle Academy, the largest and most recognised training provider of bike maintenance and technical training courses to the UK’s cycle industry, recently welcomed a...

6 Mar 2024

The Greeting Card Association has reacted to a BBC Panorama programme lifting the lid on Royal Mail management prioritising parcel delivery over letters, which it says are in contradiction of...

4 Mar 2024

Pop star Kate Bush has been announced as an ambassador for this year's Record Store Day, on 20 April.

Back to news menu

New National Minimum Wage from October

Posted on in Business News , Cycles News , Creative News, Outdoor News, Political News

New National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates coming into force on 1 October 2016.

From 1 October 2016 the rates for the NMW will rise as follows (current rates shown in brackets together with percentage increase):

  • Apprenticeship rate: £3.40 (£3.30 +3%)
  • Workers ages 16 to 17: £4.00 (£3.87 +3.4%)
  • Workers aged 18 to 20: £5.55 (£5.30 +4.7%)
  • Workers aged 21 to 24: £6.95 (£6.70 +3.7%)

The National Living Wage (NLW) will continue to apply, currently set at £7.20 per hour, for all workers aged 25 and above. The NLW is expected to increase in April 2017, with NMW also rising again on that date to bring the two rates into alignment. As yet, we do not know what next year's increases will be although the government previously expressed an ambition for the NLW to hit £9 by 2020 - which would require annual rises of between 6 and 7%.

The impact of higher wages on small businesses has long been argued. The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has warned of the negative impact these above inflation minimum wage increases have on retailers' ability to retain staff numbers and hours as well as their other detrimental effects. It therefore came as no surprise to learn that the ACS Local Shop Report,showed a decrease in staff hours in convenience stores. 

Whilst the new NMW will affect many retailers cash flow, failing to comply could be much worse. If an employer doesn't pay the correct rate, a worker can raise a formal grievance with their employer or complain to HMRC who will in turn investigate the matter. If HMRC finds that an employer has not paid at least the correct rate, they can send a notice of arrears and impose a penalty.

From April 2016 the maximum penalty increased from 100% of arrears to 200% or arrears (but is halved if paid within 14 days). The overall maximum penalty per worker remains unchanged at £20,000. Business owners who fail to pay can also be banned from being company directors for up to 15 years.

More information

If you need advice on the latest changes in Employment Legislation or any aspect of employment law, ActSmart's partner DAS can help.

Our partnership with legal experts DAS means ActSmart subscribers can access 24 hour UK based helplines, covering the following subjects:

  • Commercial & Legal Advice
  • Human Resources
  • Health & Safety
  • Tax Advice
  • Assistance in the event of business emergency (fire, flood etc)
  • Confidential counselling for owners, their staff and immediate family members
  • The team at ActSmart head office are always available to offer common sense advice and support

24 hour unlimited access 

Unlike many other legal and business support helplines, ActSmart offer subscribers 24 hour, unlimited access to DAS business support. To access the helplines click on the button below.

Access helpline  

 

 

 

Back to news menu

Useful links

If you have any other queries please contact us.