Hefty National Minimum Wage Fines

The government introduced new name and shame legislation in October, which made public those businesses not paying employees the NMW. From 7 March naming and shaming will be coupled with fines of up to £20,000.

Hilary Hall, chief executive of the National Hairdressers’ Federation:

Hairdressing has the worst reputation for not paying the national minimum wage – so NHBF has repeatedly warned that salons will be obvious targets for investigation.  And the government is upping the consequences for businesses breaking the law.  We saw two salons publicly ‘named and shamed’ last week and, from 7 March, the financial penalties will go from a maximum of £5,000 to £20,000.   Your business may struggle just to survive the damage to reputation, but fines on this scale could literally put you out of business.  NHBF members are kept up-to-date about the current rates, any proposed changes as well as having access to specialist help on payroll questions.  Our advice?  Be sure you’re paying at the right rate because if you aren’t, you could lose your business.”

National Minimum Wage Current Rates:  

The national minimum wage is set at varying hourly rates based on age or whether an employee is an apprentice. Currently these are:

•           21 and over:      £6.31

•           18 to 20:            £5.03

•           Under 18:          £3.72

•           Apprentice*:      £2.68

*This rate is for apprentices under 19 or those in the first year of their apprenticeship