As you may already know, the changes to the national minimum wages take place from today, this includes the apprenticeship minimum wage.

The rates from 1st April 2021 are:

• £8.91 per hour for workers aged 23 years and older
• £8.36 per hour for workers aged 21-22 years inclusive,
• £6.56 per hour for workers aged 18-20 years inclusive,
• £4.62 per hour for under 18 years,
• £4.30 per hour for apprentices aged under 19, or aged 19 and over but in the first year of their apprenticeship.

Employer’s responsibilities:

• You are required by law to ensure that your workers are paid at least the minimum wage.
• You need to keep records sufficient to prove that you are paying the minimum wage to your workers (i.e. payslips showing hours worked and rate, or detailed workings if payslips show a rate per week / month).
• If you fail to pay the minimum wage you can be required to pay arrears through the issuing of an enforcement notice.
• It is a criminal offence to refuse to pay the minimum wage, to obstruct compliance officers or not to keep proper records. Fines for these offences can be up to £20,000.

Please ensure that any apprentices employed by your business are receiving at least the new minimum wage. If you would like more information on the national minimum wage please visit the Government website.