Am I being paid enough? - Paul Doran Law

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Am I being paid enough?

Paid enough“Am I being paid enough?”

The National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) have increased every year since their introduction. From April this year, there has been quite a jump!

It means 2.9 million of the lowest paid workers in the UK get a pay rise! It’s good timing, because we all need to earn more to cope with the cost-of-living increase we’re all facing at the moment.

This article covers the changes and what you can do if your employer doesn’t pay you enough.

The changes

As you can see, the NLW leapt by 9.7% from £9.50 per hour to £10.42 for workers aged 23+. If you work full-time, that’s the equivalent of more than £1,600 extra per year before tax!

The NLW was introduced in 2016, and these are the highest increases it’s had, both in percentage terms and cold hard cash. It’s part of The Government’s manifesto commitment for the NLW to equal 2/3 of median earnings by 2024, “provided economic conditions allow”.

In addition…

The 2023 NMW for 21 and 22 years is 52% higher and the NMW for apprentices is 60% higher than the 2015 rates.

The Government says the rises will benefit workers in industries such as retail, hospitality, cleaning and maintenance, as well as women from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Note that, if you’re in a job where you get tips, these are not counted towards the NMW.

Defining ‘wages’

When you make a claim for deduction from wages, you must be clear about the exact amounts you’re claiming for.

Wages are defined in the Employment Rights Act as sums that are payable in relation to your employment. These include:

These payments do NOT count as wages for the purposes of unlawful deductions:

Unlawful deduction from wages

If you’re paid less than you should be, it’s known as is ‘unlawful deduction from wages’.

These are the situations when your employer IS allowed to make a deduction:

If your employer threatens to make a deduction from your wages, but doesn’t actually do so, you can’t make a claim against them. You can only claim for actual financial loss.

If your employer consistently pays you late, it might feel like a deduction from your wages, but going to the employment tribunal won’t get you paid twice for the same time period even if you win.

Are you paid enough?

If your employer is not paying you the current rates, here’s what to do:

First, speak to your manager or HR department. You may be able to sort it out informally.

If that doesn’t work, you should make a formal grievance. To do this, it’s important to check your employment contract and staff handbook to find and follow the proper process. (We can provide support at this stage.)

You should then get advice from Acas or HMRC. (We also help employees through early conciliation, which is what this stage is called.)

Ultimately, you can take them to the Employment Tribunal and bring a claim against them.

For expert insight, please talk to us – the earlier the better. We are employment lawyers covering the UK mainland and Northern Ireland. As such, we have years of experience in dealing with wage claims on behalf of employees who are being wrongly underpaid.

How we help

We help employees to:

The reason you should act quickly is because any claim that goes to the employment tribunal must be made within three months less one day.

The time limit starts from:

Claims can go back over a period of two years before the date you start the claim, unless you are claiming statutory sick pay, statutory maternity pay and other statutory payments – in these cases there is no limit on how far your claim can go back, as long as you start it in time from the last deduction.

If you win your case, you’ll be awarded the income you should have received, plus any expenses you may have incurred due to the non-payment, such as bank charges.

Your other options

Your employer might be in breach of contract – you can claim for that.

You might feel forced to resign and make a claim for constructive dismissal (these are easier to win than claims for wrongful dismissal).

Depending on the situation, your claim might be taken to the County Court or High Court rather than the Employment Tribunal.

As always, the law is a complex beast, and we recommend you take expert advice to discuss your unique situation. Give us a call. The initial conversation is free and our friendly employment lawyers will help. What’s more, your employer will usually cover our bill.

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