A number of changes relating to the National Minimum and National Living Wage are coming into effect from 1 April 2021.

Lowering of the age threshold for National Living Wage

From 1 April 2021, the National Living Wage will be payable to 23- and 24-year-olds for the first time.

The National Living Wage (NLW) is usually revised upwards each April. Employers should take note that this year comes with an important change. As mentioned in our previous blog, workers and employees aged 23 and over will now receive the NLW, rather than the National Minimum Wage (NMW).

From 1 April, employers must pay a minimum hourly rate of at least £8.91 to all workers and employees aged 23 and over. Employers should check their records to make sure they are paying staff correctly when the changes come in.

Those aged 21-22 see an increase to £8.36 per hour and those aged between 18-20 must receive a minimum of £6.56 per hour. The government table for previous years’ rates for all age groups can be found here.

Record keeping extended to 6 years

The period for which employers are required to keep records of the hours worked and payments made to their workers for the purpose of the NMW and NLW will increase from 3 to 6 years on 1 April. Employers should note this extension applies to records made prior to 1 April 2021 if the employer was already required to keep the records immediately before that date.

Recent Supreme Court decisions about NMW

We have now had the much-anticipated judgments in the Uber and Mencap cases which have implications for the national minimum wage. We have written blogs on both of these cases. If you think either or both of these decisions will affect your organisation, then please read our blog about the Uber decision and our blog about the Mencap decision.

Should you have any queries on any of the topics in this update please contact a member of our Employment Department.