Legal
Sector Focus
‘Many businesses that think they are compliant may well be operating in blissful ignorance in breach of NMW regulations’
One of work uniforms. If an
employee has to supply their own uniforms (or any part of them), then the cost of purchasing should be deducted from their pay when calculating NMW. If, for example, you provide a
branded T-shirt, but your employee has to provide their own black trousers and shoes, the cost of these will be considered a deduction for NMW purposes, which means the employee must receive the NMW after that deduction. Another is working time, which
might seem a straightforward thing to calculate – it’s the time spent on shift doing the job. But additional activities can
Helena Morrissey: Businesses should avoid the NMW pitfalls
also count toward working hours. If an employee has to go through any checks or undertake any mandatory steps before they can start or leave work, such as security searches, team briefings, getting changed on site or drug and alcohol tests, then the time spent going
through these processes will also be working time and should be paid at the NMW rate. Further, if employees work through an unpaid break, this too becomes working time. Then there is salary sacrifice –
where an employee is a member of a salary sacrifice scheme, they must receive the NMW rate after this deduction has been made. Annualised hours contracts can
also be an issue - HMRC describe these as ‘salaried hours’ contracts and they must contain an ‘ascertainable’ number of hours that the employee is expected to work in the year. This should be expressed by the number of hours expected per month or year. Many businesses that think they
are compliant may well be operating in blissful ignorance in breach of NMW regulations. An audit of pay practices is advisable to identify and rectify any issues before HMRC comes knocking.
Carmichael Mediation Services Ltd recognises employees are our greatest commodity and the value of healthy relationships with customers, employees and partners. Disputes do arise in the workplace which leads to profit reduction and costly ET litigation.
Carmichael Mediation Services Ltd helps businesses to reduce workplace conflicts by providing mediation, internal investigations and training.
Visit us at: Grosvenor House
11 St Paul’s Square Birmingham B3 1RB
t: 07495 792 501
w:
www.cmsmediationservices.co.uk e:
cms@cmediation-services.co.uk
l:
linkedin.com/in/brian-carmichael-a95744148 October 2018 CHAMBERLINK 67
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