National Minimum Wage

Are there any specific records that I need to keep?

You will need to keep records which prove that you are paying the National Minimum Wage. It is up to you what form these records take. If there is a disagreement about whether you have paid a worker the National Minimum Wage, you are responsible for proving that you have.

If your workers' earnings are clearly above the minimum wage, or if you already keep detailed records about pay and hours, you will probably not have to keep special records for the National Minimum Wage.

What rights do workers have?

Workers have a right to:

• see their own pay records (if they have good reasons to suspect they have been underpaid)
• make a complaint to the enforcement agency, or take their case to an employment tribunal or to a civil court to complain that the employer has not paid them the National Minimum Wage
• make a complaint to a tribunal that the employer has failed to produce pay records and
• take legal action if they are sacked or victimised because of their right to the National Minimum Wage, or because they have complained about not being paid the minimum wage.

Sacking a worker because they become eligible for the National Minimum Wage, or a higher rate, counts as unfair dismissal. Workers do not have to work for a qualifying period to be protected against this type of unfair dismissal.

Who enforces the National Minimum Wage?

The Inland Revenue enforces the National Minimum Wage. In the agricultural sector, agricultural inspectors are enforcing both the National Minimum Wage and the agricultural minimum wage.

What are the penalties for not paying the National Minimum Wage?

It is a criminal offence to

• refuse or wilfully neglect to pay the National Minimum Wage
• fail to keep suitable records
• keep false records and
• prevent an enforcement officer from doing their job.

National Minimum Wage officers can issue an enforcement notice if they find that you have underpaid your workers.

This may be followed by a penalty notice, worked out on the basis of £7.40 for each day that you do not follow an enforcement notice for each worker.

Officers will give you every chance to pay your workers the National Minimum Wage before they give you a penalty notice.