27/05/2025
As more woodworking businesses turn to digital tools to manage daily operations, the risk of cybercrime is becoming a growing concern. From managing stock and customer orders to accounting and ...
The National Minimum Wage is set to increase in October 2014 and the increases from the current rate are as follows:
The national minimum wage will increase by 19p an hour from £6.31 to £6.50.
The rate for 18 to 20-year-olds will go up by 10p to £5.13 an hour, a 2% increase.
The rate for those aged 16 and 17 will rise by 7p to £3.79, also a 2% rise.
Apprentices will earn an extra 5p an hour, taking their wages to at least £2.73.
The increase comes about because Business Secretary Vince Cable announced earlier this year that he had accepted a recommendation from the Low Pay Commission that the minimum wage should increase by 3%, the first time in six years that the rise will be higher than inflation.
A series of measures have recently been introduced to crack down on employers that break National Minimum Wage law. As well as being publicly named and shamed, those that fail to pay their workers the National Minimum Wage also face new penalties of up to £20,000.
The government also plans to legislate so that employers can also be given penalties of up to £20,000 for each individual worker they have underpaid, rather than the maximum penalty applying to each employer. This will mean if an employer underpays 10 workers, they could face penalties of up to £200,000.
Another change set for 1st October is the right to time off for antenatal appointments. Under the new shared parental leave it is proposed to allow the husband, civil partner or partner of the pregnant women the right to unpaid time off to attend up to 2 ante-natal appointments.
The BWF’s employment, legal and tax guidance is one of the most developed areas of our support for woodworking companies. BWF members needing advice on tax and employment matters can use our free-to-members business support helplines which includes legal assistance from Wedlake Bell, and employment advice from Croner. They can find further resources in this area under publications, where we have a number of guides and template documents.
