New rates from 1^st April 2022

• £9.50 per hour for ages 23 and over.
• £9.18 per hour for ages 21 to 22.
• £6.83 per hour for ages 18 to 20.
• £4.81 per hour for school leaving age to 17.
• £4.81 per hour for apprentices under 19 or in their first year of apprenticeship

The new rate will apply to the next pay reference period that begins on or after the date:

• a rate increase begins
• an employee reaches a new age bracket.

For example: an employee paid on the 25^th of each month will start to receive the new rate of minimum wage from 26 April onwards.

If a worker receives above NMW there is no legal obligation on an employer to increase their pay when the NMW rate increases.

Exemptions to the rates

There are a number of people who are not entitled to the NMW or NLW.

The NMW and NLW do not apply to:

• self-employed people
• volunteers or voluntary workers
• company directors
• members of the armed forces
• family members, or people who live in the family home of the employer who undertake household tasks
• work experience students, depending on the length of their placement.

All other workers including pieceworkers, home workers, agency workers, commission workers, part-time workers and casual workers must receive at least the NMW or NLW.

Some people may need to have adjustments made to their NMW if they live in accommodation which is linked to their employment or owned by their employer. For further information, go to www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-accommodation.

Apprentices

The apprenticeship rate only applies to apprentices aged:

• under 19
• 19 or over who are in the first year of their apprenticeship.

Apprentices aged 19 or over in their second year of apprenticeship must receive the national minimum wage or national living wage rate their age entitles them to.

Family members

A worker is not eligible for the NMW or the NLW if they are a member of the employer’s family and:

• resides in the family home of the employer
• shares in the tasks and activities of the family.

A worker is not eligible for the NMW or the NLW if they reside in the family home of the employer and:

• is not a member of that family, but is treated as such in regards to the provision of living accommodation, meals and the sharing of tasks and leisure activities
• is not liable to any deductions and does not make any payment to the employer, or any other person in respect to the provision of the living accommodation or meals
• if the work had been done by a member of the employer’s family, it would not have been treated as work.

Payroll news from Highland Payroll Services