Nearly a million low-paid workers, two-thirds of them women, will have a fuller pay packet when the adult national minimum wage (NMW) rises from £5.52 to £5.73 in October.
The rate for 18-21 year olds will also increase from £4.60 to £4.77, while the 16-17 year old rate will rise from £3.40 to £3.53.
The government has also boosted funding for enforcement of the NMW and is planning tough new penalties for rogue employers who underpay staff as part of the Employment Bill, now before the Parliament. These include increasing the maximum penalty for non-payment of the NMW to an unlimited fine, with the most serious cases tried in a Crown Court.
Since October 2007 the minimum wage for adults, combined with Working Tax credits and other benefits, has guaranteed an income of at least £292 a week for families with one child and one full-time worker.
When the National Minimum Wage was launched the main rate was £3.60. Since then it has increased at substantially more than the rate of inflation, while the number of jobs in the economy has risen by over two million over the same period.
The confidential National Minimum Wage helpline is 0845 6000 678.
Source
Building Sustainable Design
