27 September 2011. From 1 October 2011, new rates and entitlements will be introduced to the National Minimum Wage.
The new National Minimum Wage rates will apply from 1 October 2011.
Workers who are aged 21 and over will be entitled to the main National Minimum Wage rate.
The new rates will be:
• ADULT NMW: £6.08 per hour
for workers aged 21 years and over (up from £5.93, qualifying age 22, in 2010-2011)• DEVELOPMENT NMW: £4.98 per hour
for workers aged 18 to 20 (up from £4.92 in 2010-2011)• MINORS NMW: £3.68 per hour
for workers aged 16-17, that is over compulsory school leaving age (up from £3.64 in 2010-2011)• APPRENTICE NMW: £2.60 per hour
for apprentices under 19 or 19 or over and in the first yearof their apprenticeship (up from £2.50 in 2010-2011)
Nearly all workers in the UK are entitled to be paid at least the National Minimum Wage (NMW). If you are a worker entitled to the NMW, your employer is breaking the law if they aren’t paying it.
You are entitled to the NMW even if you sign a contract agreeing to be paid at a lower rate. This is regardless of whether you sign of your own free will or because your employer persuades or makes you. The contract will have no legal effect and you must still be paid the proper rate.
You will be a worker who is entitled to the NMW if:
• you have a contract of employment
• you have a contract to perform work or provide services personally for your employer
• you are not self-employed under the contract
The contract does not have to be in writing, it can be oral or implied.
Being registered as self-employed for tax purposes does not necessarily make you self-employed for NMW purposes.
If you are a worker from outside the UK and you are legally working in the UK you are entitled to the NMW. It doesn’t matter how long or short a time you stay here or whether your employer is based in the UK or somewhere else.