minimum wage

kev.s

son started a new job today after unemployed for ages, he has been told he'll get £600 pm for 40 hr week, according to gov website from 19-21 he should receive £4.92 and once he reaches 21 it goes to £5.93 he is not an apprentice or anything, my question is, can companies still do this? whats the consequences if reported, my son is glad of the job and does not want to cause trouble incase he loses it. any advice?

relic

No, they can't, even if he signed for it.

I'd make sure they weren't just guessing at saying he would get £600 pm, and find out his hourly pay figure.

Sharon87

I'd ask for his hourly figure too. Don't forget he probably won't get paid for lunches, and if it's an hour that's 35 hours a week, after tax/NI it might be around £600 he gets, but his pre tax income should be around £700 minimum depending on if he gets paid for breaks or not.

kev.s

thanks for the advice, will ensure he gets them to confirm the wages in writing, but they told him that he'd be getting £600 because this would take him below the threshold for tax, just curious if they are pulling the wool legally or not.

spadoosh

this will keep him below the threshold of tax but for your son it would make no difference everything he earned upto that amount would be tax free and then he would pay tax on anything above that rate. They could be trying to avoid paying employer NI contributions but if they want to do this they will have to reduce his hours accordingly

kev.s

spoke to him tonight, he asked his employer what his hourly rate was, he said to hime that he just had an annual salary of £7200. he is still waiting for something in writing, but as a youngster he is a bit reluctant to confrontation and does not want to lose the job, however he is looking for another job.

Sambucus_Nigra

Sharon87 wrote: »

I'd ask for his hourly figure too. Don't forget he probably won't get paid for lunches, and if it's an hour that's 35 hours a week, after tax/NI it might be around £600 he gets, but his pre tax income should be around £700 minimum depending on if he gets paid for breaks or not.

If it's a 40 hour week then it's a 40 hour week, not a 35 hour week. That's 8 working hours a day, not 7...

diable

£7200 per year? are you serious???

relic

kev.s wrote: »

spoke to him tonight, he asked his employer what his hourly rate was, he said to hime that he just had an annual salary of £7200. he is still waiting for something in writing, but as a youngster he is a bit reluctant to confrontation and does not want to lose the job, however he is looking for another job.

Well the employer is wrong. Do they tend to take on younger people? They might be trying to get away with what they can.

Tell him to tell them he has no problem with 7,200 a year, as long as it's a 30 hour week.

Humphrey10

kev.s wrote: »

as a youngster he is a bit reluctant to confrontation and does not want to lose the job, however he is looking for another job.

Better to lose the job than prove to the employer that he will let them screw him over whenever and however they want.

Does the £7200 cover 12 months or is it £7200 for a fixed term contract or something? How many hours a week will he be working, is it 9 to 5 with an unpaid lunch hour or something different?

What about holidays? And pension arrangements? And what about sick pay, do they just pay SSP? Any other benefits? If a company isn't willing to tell you these things as soon as you ask, you don't want to work for them.

Indo77

National Minimum Wage Rates from 1 October 2010

• £5.93 - the main rate for workers aged 21 and over
• £4.92 – the 18-20 rate
• £3.64 – the 16-17 rate for workers above school leaving age but under 18
• £2.50 – the apprentice rate, for apprentices under 19 or 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship

http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/labour-markets/minimum-wage-for-16-18-year-olds/


Sadly you will find the crap minimum wage levels is what screws young people. At 21 I can remember working a wage that was the same as the dole by the time you figured in additional benefits. It was hardly an incentive and I quit after 2 weeks - Tory Britian.