It has been 15 years since the
National Minimum Wage was introduced. It is now such an accepted part of business that it’s easy to forget that it was quite a controversial move when it was first mooted and introduced.
With the introduction of a new set of rates on 1 October 2014, Peninsula has produced a white paper covering the history, debates and future of the minimum wage. It covers the gradual increases in rates and new categories, the pressure on the wage in both directions from employee groups and from business, and some projections as to the NMW’s future direction based on recent pronouncements by political parties.
There is also information wage offsets, exemptions and business owners’ responsibility and measures HMRC can take should they fall short.
The paper is essential reading for anyone interested in the minimum wage as a concept, particularly for business owners looking to plan salary expenditure when ideas such as the “living wage” are gaining a political foothold. Download it below.
On October 1, the rates of all categories rose. Here are the new rates:
| Age | Rate |
| 21 and over | £6.50 per hour |
| Age 18 to 20 | £5.13 per hour |
| Under 18 | £3.79 per hour |
| Apprentice | £2.73 per hour |
