The Government’s New National Living Wage became law on 1 April 2016. If you’re an employer, you need to make sure you’re paying your staff correctly, as the National Living Wage will be enforced as strongly as the current National Minimum Wage.

All workers aged 25 and over are now legally entitled to at least £7.20 per hour.

If you haven’t already, you need to take these four steps:

  1. Check you know who is eligible in your organisation. Find out on GOV. UK’s employment status page.
  1. Take the appropriate payroll action. Find useful guidance in HMRC’s tutorials.
  1. Let your staff know about their new pay rate.
  1. Check your staff under 25 are earning at least the right rate of National Minimum Wage.

You can find out everything you need to know about the new National Living Wage, including the new rates of pay, on the employers’ National Minimum Wage page.

Tip – So even if you think you’re already NLW / NMW compliant, conduct a full audit periodically to be sure.  There is a possibility that even an innocent mistake will still attract the fine.

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This article is part of the MAD-HR Employment Law content hub archive.

Click here to get the latest update on the National Living wage.