The minimum wage applies to any employer, regardless of size, and is effectively the lowest hourly pay amount nigh on all workers should receive.
Today sees the start of the 2014 minimum wage rates and should be taken more seriously by employers as the Government strengthened it's powers of enforcement, including naming and shaming employers not abiding by the rules.
A recap of the new rates is below:
- Aged 21 and up - £6.50 (up from £6.31)
- Aged 18-20 - £5.13 (up from £5.03)
- Aged under 18 (above school leaving age) - £3.79 (up from £3.72)
- Apprentices* - £2.73 (up from £2.68)
* apprentices who are aged under 19, or aged 19 or over and currently in the first year of apprenticeship.