02 Sep New national minimum wage rates from 1 October 2016

New hourly national minimum wage (NMW) rates come into effect on 1 October 2016

Employers are already legally required to pay eligible workers who are 25 or over the national living wage (NLW of £7.20 an hour)

Hourly NMW and NLW rates

Age                           From October 2016                     Until October 2016

25 and over                           £7.20                                                   £7.20

21-24                                    £6.95                                                   £6.70

18-20                                    £5.55                                                   £5.30

16-17                                    £4.00                                                   £3.87

Apprentices*                          £3.40                                                   £3.30

*Apprentices aged 16-18 and those aged 19 or over who are in their first year.

Calculating NMW and NLW

Working time includes:

• time at work and being required to work or being on standby near the workplace
• work-related travel (but not travelling between home and work)
• training or travelling to training.

The following payments should not affect NMW or NLW calculations:

• income tax and national insurance contributions
• advances on wages or loans
• repaying wage advances or loans
• repaying overpaid wages
• some accommodation
• penalties related to worker misconduct
• anything the worker paid for voluntarily or are not needed to do their job such as meals.

Items a worker buys for a job but isn’t refunded for (such as uniform or equipment) should not be included as part of the minimum wage.