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Retail union calls on Low Pay Commission to be ambitious on minimum wage rates | Consensus HR in Herts & Beds

24 04 2024

Low Pay Commission starts work on recommendation for 2025 minimum wage | Consensus HR in Herts, Beds

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The Low Pay Commission (LPC), the independent body which advises the Government on the levels of the National Minimum Wage (NMW), including the National Living Wage (NLW), has launched a call for evidence to inform its advice to the Government on the minimum wage in 2025 and beyond.

With full details available on the GOV.UK website, it is seeking input to shape the recommendations which it will make to the Government this autumn, on minimum wage rates to apply from April next year.

The deadline for submitting evidence is 7 June 2024.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has published a new remit for the LPC which can be found here.

This asks the Commission to recommend an NLW rate for April 2025 “to maintain the bite at two-thirds of median earnings and protect progress made to end low hourly pay for this group, without recommending any further revisions to the age threshold”.

The LPC estimates that the rate required to meet this aim is within the range of £11.61 and £12.18, with a central estimate of £11.89.

The Government also asks the LPC to monitor and evaluate the levels of each of the different NMW rates (under-18 and 18–20 age groups and apprentice rate) and make recommendations on the increases it believes should apply from April 2025, such that the rates are set as high as possible without damaging the employment prospects of each group.

The TUC has criticised the Government for its decision to “tie the hands” of the LPC.

General Secretary, Paul Nowak, said: “Keeping the minimum wage at two-thirds of median earnings will deliver a paltry increase of just 15 pence next year — based on the latest forecasts. Ministers should be instructing the LPC to aim for 75% of median pay. This would help deliver a £15 an hour minimum wage and make work pay for millions.”

Low Pay Commission starts work on recommendation for 2025 minimum wage | Consensus HR in Herts, Beds

Our HR comment:

Our HR Comment / Advice – Low Pay Commission starts work on recommendation for 2025 minimum wage | Consensus HR in Herts, Beds

Matthew Chilcott, FCIPD, ACEL, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “With the most recent pay rate increases happening at the beginning of this month with on average £1 per hour extra, it is interesting to see that that the low pay commission are starting to work on the rates for 2025. This article from HR inform gives some useful links to Government websites where further information can be found. We have written a number of previous blogs on minimum wage which can be found by clicking on the relevant title below:

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27 02 2024

More than 500 businesses fail to pay minimum wage | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

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More than 500 businesses, including Greggs and Harrods, failed to pay some of their employees the minimum wage, according to a list released by the Department for Business and Trade. The analysis, which covers breaches between 2015 and 2023, shows that recruitment agency Staffline topped the list for failing to pay 36,767 workers correctly, while Estée Lauder failed to pay £894,980 to almost 6,000 workers. The report shows that 524 employers have repaid more than 172,000 workers almost £16m, plus an additional penalty, for breaches in paying the statutory national minimum wage. Kevin Hollinrake, the minister for enterprise, markets and small businesses, said: “Employees deserve to get paid properly for the hard work they put in.” Caroline Harwood, an employer tax partner at BDO, said: “It’s always a bit of a shock to see so many well-known names appearing on HMRC’s list of employers who have been found to be in breach of national minimum wage rules.”

The Times

Our HR comment: – More than 500 businesses fail to pay minimum wage | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

Matthew Chilcott, FCIPD, ACEL, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “This never ceases to amaze me, the amount of companies that fail to pay the minimum wage considering our wages are one of the main things we all work for. However, it can also be easier said than done and hence why, the importance of ensuring yearly salary reviews take place, to give businesses the opportunity to make sure all members of the team are paid adequately.

Generally wage increases happen in April each year and is publicised extensively by the Government so as to ensure that all businesses have the information to make any changes needed. The Government has announced the rates of the National Living Wage (NLW) and National Minimum Wage (NMW) which will come into force from April 2024. In doing so, it has accepted in full the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission.

The rates which will apply from 1 April 2024 are as follows:

	NMW Rate	Increase in pence	Percentage increase
National Living Wage (21 and over)	£ 11.44	£ 1.02	9.8%
18-20 Year Old Rate	£ 8.60	£ 1.11	14.8%
16-17 Year Old Rate	£ 6.40	£ 1.12	21.2%
Apprentice Rate	£ 6.40	£ 1.12	21.2%
Accommodation Offset	£ 9.99	£ 0.89	9.8%

Gov.Uk

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19 02 2024

Pay settlements set to fall for rest of 2024 | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

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According to the latest Labour Market Outlook, produced by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), employers’ basic pay increase expectations over the next 12 months have fallen for the first time since spring 2020.

Having held steady at 5% for more than a year, UK employers expected basic pay increases for the year ahead have fallen to 4%, the CIPD has reported.

Its report also shows that fewer employers expect their workforce to grow than in previous quarters. Overall, a third (33%) of employer’s plan to increase their total staff level over the next three months while 10% plan to decrease their overall staffing levels.

However, many employers (38%) continue to report hard-to-fill vacancies and one in five respondents (21%) expect significant problems filling roles over the next six months.

Senior Labour Market Economist for the CIPD, Jon Boys, said: “We’ve seen a sustained period of high wage growth in response to a tight labour market, and high inflation pushing up the cost-of-living. Pay growth has helped individuals but it leaves employers with a higher wage bill to cover.”

To see a sustained return to growth, he continued, there needs to be a real focus on boosting productivity by investing in workplace skills and technology.

If firms are planning to reduce base pay increases, Mr Boys suggested that it would be in their interest to highlight their wider benefits package and to improve job quality.

The Labour Market Outlook for Winter 2023–24 can be found here.

HRInform – 13^th February 2024

Our HR Comment: – Pay settlements set to fall for rest of 2024 | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

Matthew Chilcott, FCIPD, ACEL, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “This article from the CIPD, our Chartered Institute has some very interesting statistic and emphasises the importance of business ensuring that their recruitment strategy for their business is correct and attracting / retaining the right talent. A Consensus HR, we work with companies to ensure that when they do recruit, they have all the correct tools in place to make it a success such as: Right advertising and marketing, correct recruitment strategy, writing of a Job Description, drafting of an applicable Contract of Employment, which they must have from day one of Employment. Access to a comprehensive HR Employee Handbook and state of the art IT system where they can gain access to all their / companies HR Policies and Procedures and records and book a holiday. Consensus HR help companies in all areas of Human Resources whilst making sure that our clients are never treated as a number and when they call us, we know straight away what they wish to discuss whilst providing a suitable best practice and Employment Law solution.”

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29 01 2024

HMRC asks for comments on IR35 | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

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HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has launched a consultation seeking views on calculating PAYE liabilities in cases of non-compliance for off-payroll working (IR35).

This technical consultation sets out the mechanism by which HMRC will be able to account for taxes already paid by individuals and their intermediary on income received from off-payroll working when recovering the tax due under PAYE from the employer.

It includes a draft Statutory Instrument (SI), the Income Tax (Pay As You Earn) (Amendment) Regulations 2024, and several items of draft guidance/

The draft SI contains detailed provisions to be introduced in the Income Tax (Pay As You Earn) Regulations 2003 to allow the PAYE liability that is recovered from the deemed employer to be reduced by amounts of tax already assessed and/or paid by the worker and their intermediary.

It also contains conditions under which it can apply, the mechanics of the recovery and the appeal rights associated with it.

People who work through their own intermediary (eg a personal service company (PSC)) are advised to consider this consultation as are medium and large-sized clients, public authorities, agencies, partnerships and individuals who engage people who work through their own intermediaries.

HMRC suggests that it will also be of interest to HR managers and those who deal with recruitment processes and payroll.

Full details, including the various drafts, can be found on the GOV.UK website and the deadline for submitting comments is 22 February 2024.

HRInform – 26-Jan-24

Our HR comment: HMRC asks for comments on IR35 | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

Matthew Chilcott FCIPD, ACEL, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “It is good to see that the HMRC are asking for comments in relations to payments in relation to IR35 as this has been a rather complicated system since its introduction. The IR35 – off payroll working rules make sure that a worker (sometimes known as a contractor) pays broadly the same Income Tax and National Insurance as an employee would.

The rules apply if the worker who provides services to a client through their own intermediary would have been an employee if they were providing their services directly to that client.

The Gov.UK website has detailed information in relation to this and who the rules apply to etc.

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Lone working: protect those working alone | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

09 01 2024

FTSE 100 CEOs earned median UK worker’s annual pay in three days |Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

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By 1.00pm on 4 January 2024, FTSE 100 CEOs’ earnings for 2024 had gone past the median UK worker’s full-time salary for the whole year.

According to calculations by the High Pay Centre think tank, based on analysis of the most recent CEO pay disclosures published in companies’ annual reports, median FTSE 100 CEO pay (excluding pension) currently stands at £3.81 million (£1170 per hour).

This is 109 times the median full-time worker’s pay of £34,963 and the High Pay Centre points out, comes against a backdrop of calls from leading figures in the city and big business for UK CEOs to be paid more.

Other calculations published by the centre include that a partner at a ‘magic circle’ law firm, average pay £1.92 million, would need to work until 8 January to match the median worker’s annual salary, while a partner at a ‘Big Four’ accountancy firm would have to wait until 16 January.

Everyone in the top 1% of full time UK earners, making at least £145,000, will have overtaken the annual pay of the median full-time worker by 29 March.

High Pay Centre director Luke Hildyard said the figures called into questions claims that top earners in Britain were not paid enough while the TUC said that they revealed “obscene levels of pay inequality”.

Highlighting that the London Stock Exchange Chief Executive had argued last year that low CEO pay levels create a risk to the UK economy, Mr Hildyard concluded: “When politicians listen to these misguided views, it’s unsurprising that we end up with massive inequality, and stagnating living standards for the majority of the population.”

The TUC points out that, while FTSE CEO pay increased by £500,000 (16%) in 2023, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has forecast that “real wages” will not recover to their 2008 value until 2028.

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Our HR Comments: – FTSE 100 CEOs earned median UK worker’s annual pay in three days |Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

Matthew Chilcott, FCIPD, ACEL, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “An interesting article written by our Chartered Instituted of Personnel & Development in relation to pay for median workers in relation to FTSE 100 CEO’s. Pay is one of the main areas together with development of the team that we find at Consensus HR, can cause friction between the team and majorly affect team moral and the business overall. We advise all our clients to ensure pay is reviewed annually with a constructive meeting taking place with the employee and their pay discussed. We stress to management and the team that a pay review meeting does not automatically mean a pay rise but the opportunity to look at the team members current pay, job, job description and performance with results received from their yearly performance review (Appraisal). This meeting allows all team members to have the opportunity to have a 121 with their manager and discuss fully. We suggest that pay reviews should happen annually and preferably after a performance review / appraisal has taken place and SMART objectives set and at a separate meeting to that of the performance review (Appraisal).

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12 12 2023

Increase in minimum salary needed – skilled worker visas | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

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Government to increase minimum salary needed to get skilled worker visas | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

Responding to the recent figures showing increases in annual immigration, quite apart from those entering the UK in “small boats”, Home Secretary, James Cleverly, has told Parliament that the Government intends to increase the minimum salary needed to get a skilled worker visa.

It will go up, next spring, from £26,200 to £38,700.

Mr Cleverly said his aim was to stop immigration undercutting the salary of British workers. However, he went on, those coming on health and social care visa routes will be exempt “so we can continue to bring in the healthcare workers on which our care sector and NHS rely”.

“We will scrap cut-price shortage labour from overseas by ending the 20% going-rate salary discount for shortage occupations and reforming the shortage occupation list (SOL),” the Home Secretary told MPs.

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He said that the Government intends to create a new immigration salary list with a reduced number of occupations in co-ordination with the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC). The MAC is being asked to review the occupations on the SOL because of the new higher-skilled worker salary thresholds.

Among other changes to the rules, Mr Cleverly said that the Government intends to ensure that people only bring dependants who they can support financially by raising the minimum income for family visas to the same threshold as the minimum salary threshold for skilled workers.

From January 2024, he continued, the right for international students to bring dependants will be removed unless they are on postgraduate courses designated as a research programme. In addition, care firms in England must be regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in order for them to sponsor visas.

Taken together, this package will mean that around 300,000 people who came to the UK last year would now not be able to do so.

Chief Executive Officer of Care England, Professor Martin Green, said: “If the Government now wants to move away from international recruitment as the solution to fixing the social care workforce crisis, it must act swiftly and invest in improving the pay and conditions to drive domestic recruitment.”

HR Inform – 7-Dec-23

Our HR Comment: Government to increase minimum salary needed to get skilled worker visas | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

Matthew P Chilcott, FCIPD, ACEL, Owner of Consensus HR comments: – “This is a very interesting article, and we wait to see the outcome on the Jobs Market. At Consensus HR, we always ensure that our clients are paying what is expected within the workplace and to the law with the changing pay rates whilst looking at the company’s recruitment strategy to attract and retain the best talent for the business and employee’s success.”

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29 11 2023

Proposed rates of SSP and family friendly leave announced | Consensus HR | Herts, Beds

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On 28 November 2023, the Government published its proposals for pay rates for family friendly leave, statutory sick pay, and the lower earnings threshold to be applied from April 2024.

The proposals are:

Statutory maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental, parental bereavement pay will rise from £172.48 to £184.03 per week.
Statutory sick pay will increase from £109.40 to £116.75 per week.
The lower earnings threshold, at or above which employees must earn in order to receive various statutory payments, will remain unchanged at £123 per week.

These rates are yet to be confirmed and are provided for information only at this stage. Until they are confirmed, they should not be relied upon for financial planning, however it would be highly unusual for the government not to implement the increases as currently proposed.

As a reminder, the following changes to national minimum wage were confirmed last week:

The national living wage age band will be expanded from 23 year olds and over, to 21 year olds and over.
National living wage will rise from £10.42 to £11.44 an hour.
National minimum wage for 18–20-year-olds will increase from £7.49 to £8.60 per hour.
The apprentice rate and rate for those below 18 but over school leaving age will increase from £5.28 to £6.40 an hour.

CIPD – News Article.

Our HR Comment: – Proposed rates of SSP and family friendly leave announced | Consensus HR | Herts, Beds

Matthew P Chilcott, FCIPD, ACEL, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “Here. is some very valuable financial information for business owners so that they can prepare for the new proposed rates of pay applicable from April 2024 and budget accordingly.

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02 11 2023

Income inequality narrows as minimum wage rises | Consensus HR | Herts, Beds

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Income inequality in the UK has narrowed since the pandemic, thanks to a rising minimum wage and increased hiring. The proportion of employees earning below two-thirds of the median hourly rate reached a record low of 8.9% in April 2023, down from 10.7% in 2022 and 16.2% in 2019, according to the Office for National Statistics. Meanwhile, the percentage of high-paid employees fell to 23.4% from 25.4% in 2019. The decline in low-paid workers is attributed to government policies on the minimum wage and tax breaks for high earners who became self-employed. The data also reveals that full-time workers in the bottom fifth of the pay distribution experienced faster pay growth than inflation. Sectors with low-paid occupations, such as caring and leisure, saw the strongest wage growth.

Financial Times

The Times

Our HR comment / advice: Income inequality narrows as minimum wage rises | Consensus HR | Herts, Beds

Matthew P Chilcott, FCIPD, ACEL, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “This is a great article from the ‘Financial Time and The Times’ in relation to pay and inequality and the median of pay received. The government policies are working for the low paid earners which should help many people since the pandemic and high inflation. At Consensus HR, we are always working with our clients to ensure that as part of their HR Strategy that y early pay reviews take place with the employees and clear measurements put into place to ensure all the team know why or if they get a pay rise and that it is dependent on both their performance and that of the company as a whole. This helps to ensure transparency and motivation within the team for the success of both the team member and the future of the business.”

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18 10 2023

Tax office staff to be paid more in three-day week trial | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

Matthew Chilcott Blog, Employment Contracts, General, Payrol #bedfordshirebusinesses, #hybridworking, #outsourcing, #taxoffice, Business, Business Owners, hertfordshire, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's, stevenage

HMRC staff will be paid more to work a three-day week over the summer as part of a trial to improve customer service levels. The pilot will involve a selection of customer service staff working fewer hours over the summer and then longer hours during tax return season. To encourage workers to sign up to the scheme, HMRC is offering a 1% pay rise. HMRC said the trial would allow it to “assess the benefits for both our customers and our colleagues.” The scheme, which will start next year and run for 12 months, is designed to help improve customer service levels that have been labelled “unacceptable” by the Public Accounts Committee. The tax office has faced criticism for its levels of customer service. It closed its self-assessment helpline over the summer and also shut its VAT helpline this year. It is noted that tax office staff are already permitted to work from home for two days a week under a “hybrid home-office working policy” approved in 2020.

The Daily Telegraph

The Times

Our HR comments: – Tax office staff to be paid more in three-day week trial | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

Matthew P Chilcott – FCIPD, ACEL, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “Well, what an interesting article to hear that a Government department is embracing flexible working in a big way and that department being one that every business has to interact with at some stage or other. The scheme here possibly demonstrates the way forward for business that can provide this and with the technology available and practices that occurred during the Pandemic. Many businesses though regardless of technology etc will not be able to offer this to their teams such as Hospitalities and retail and many businesses are finding the managing / logistics of this extremely hard. The Tax office unfortunately is known for poor customer service and as with many public sector services, if you try to call them, you are left waiting extremely long times for somebody to answer, so maybe this will improve thing and we wait to see. Hybrid working is still showing itself a lot in the news and how many businesses are now requiring their staff to return to the office, 5 days a week as the effects of working from home on the team and business are starting to show their effects. Does your business offer Hybrid working? Do you work in a business that does and find it affects the team? Let us know please in our comments.”

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Sexism in the City inquiry begins | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

05 10 2023

Employers must account for overtime in holiday pay calculations | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

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Employers must take account of overtime when calculating holiday allowances for staff, according to a ruling by the Supreme Court. The ruling came in a case brought by the Police Service of Northern Ireland, which must now pay at least £30m in back pay to officers and civilian employees. The dispute arose after a change in rules meant that overtime and additional payments should be factored into holiday pay rates. Employment specialists warn that employers will no longer be able to use technical arguments to limit their liability for underpaid holiday pay claims. Jo Moseley, a member of Irwin Mitchell’s employment team, said: “Today’s ruling is of major significance and has the potential to cost UK businesses millions of pounds.”

The Times

The Guardian

Our HR comment: Employers must account for overtime in holiday pay calculations | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

Matthew P Chilcott, FCIPD, ACEL, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “This is an interesting case mentioned today in relation to when calculating and employees holiday pay and ensuring that overtime is also included. Pay is an area we always get calls about and especially when a member of the team has left the business and is an area that an employee ca go to an Employment Tribunal from day one of employment if they believe they have monies owed to them. This is called ‘Unauthorised deduction of wages’ and is covered under the Employment Rights Act 1996 section 13 – 13.Right not to suffer unauthorised deductions.

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13 09 2023

Wages outstrip inflation for the first time in over a year | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

Matthew Chilcott Blog, Employment Contracts, Employment Law, General, Payrol #outsourcing, #payroll, #wages, bedfordshire, Business, Business Owners, hertfordshire, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's, stevenage

Wage growth has caught up with rising prices for the first time in nearly two years, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) data. Regular pay, excluding bonuses, rose by 7.8% year-on-year in May to July, matching the inflation rate for the period. Darren Morgan, director of economic statistics at the ONS, said earnings continued to increase at record rates, while inflation has started to come down, meaning that real pay is no longer falling. Separate ONS data shows that the headline unemployment rate in the May-to-July period climbed to 4.3%, up from 3.8% in the previous three-month period. The number out of work is now just below 1.5m. At the same time, the number of job vacancies has dropped below 1m. Reacting to the ONS figures, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: “It’s heartening to see the number of employees on payroll is still close to record highs and that our unemployment rate remains below many of our international peers.” He added that while wage growth “remains high,” for real wages to grow sustainably “we must stick to our plan to halve inflation.”

BBC News

Daily Mail

The Times

Our HR Comment: – Wages outstrip inflation for the first time in over a year.

Matthew P Chilcott, FCIPD, ACEL, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “Some very interesting statistics in this article and the fact that ONS data shows regular pay increasing by 7.8% whilst unemployment is still very low and job vacancies dropping.

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If you wish to talk to a HR professional about your salaries within your business and carry out pay reviews to best practice, give us a call now.

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31 08 2023

Government to bring back EU-derived law on equal pay months after scrapping it | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

Matthew Chilcott Blog, Employment Law, General, Payrol #employmentlaw, #equalityact2010, #equalityanddiversity, #EuropeanUnion, #payroll, bedfordshire, brexit, Business, Business Owners, hertfordshire, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, Small Business, SME, SME's, stevenage

Other media channels pick up on the story first reported by the FT yesterday whereby the UK government has announced that it will reinstate equal pay protection for women after an EU law guaranteeing it was scrapped. The protection, which aimed to help workers whose jobs had been outsourced, was among some 600 EU laws which the government announced in May that it would scrap by the end of the year, in the retained EU law bill. However, the government has now committed to reinstating the right under UK law. The government’s Equalities Hub spokesperson stated that there will be no reduction in equal pay protections and that new legislation will be laid in Parliament by the end of the year. Labour’s shadow women and equalities secretary, Anneliese Dodds, criticised the government’s U-turn and questioned its commitment to protecting equal pay rights for women.

Sky News

BBC News

The Guardian

Our HR Comment: – Government to bring back EU-derived law on equal pay months after scrapping it.

Matthew P Chilcott, FCIPD, ACEL, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “This is an interesting article firstly announce in the FT regarding Equal Pay and one of the many proposed EU laws to be scrapped by the Government. In this instance it has been reinstated and makes you wonder how many of the 600 law will be changed if ever as time goes on.

Some of our previous blogs written on the subject

Fewer EU laws to be scrapped.
Sunak tries to head off rebels with pledge on EU law repeal

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Here is our latest monthly HR newsletter with just a few of our blogs and if you find any that you have questions about, do not hesitate to contact us.

YOUR OUTSOURCED HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT.

For further information on any of the HR subjects we provide, please click the heading below:

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