On April 1 the national minimum wage and living wage rates have increased.
There are different levels of National Minimum Wage (NMW), depending on your age and whether you are an apprentice. If you're aged 25 and over, you'll get the National Living Wage (NLW). The hourly rates change every April.
The current minimum wage rates and the rates from April 2018 are:
*If under 19 or in first year of apprenticeship (otherwise refer to age bands).The apprenticeship rate does not apply to Higher Level Apprenticeships.
Some smaller businesses faced with increasing wages and operating costs are finding themselves stretched to meet the latest rise. Businesses must ensure they are paying the national living wage. However, some are having to face decisions of increasing their prices, scaling down on their investment plans, reducing numbers in the workforce or reducing hours.
How can you drive growth and productivity when faced with increased costs?
- Before recruiting, consider outsourcing to an external contractor or freelancer until you are reassured that there is the volume of work justified to hire a permanent member of staff.
- Drive employee engagement initiatives to improve and increase productivity. For example, encourage feedback on existing processes. Give employees a platform to raise new initiatives and make sure you recognise innovation. Your employees know the business and can give you a new perspective, helping to create new products to sell and develop the organisation.
- Review job descriptions (annually) to ensure they are still current and relevant and ensuring you implement any necessary changes.
- Consider offering apprenticeships, for further information visit the GOV.UK website, Employing an Apprentice. But a word of warning do not view this as a way of getting cheap labour, if you do you will damage the brand and reputation of your company.