New national minimum wage rates from October 2007

Relevant to
All employers

Takes effect on
1 October 2007

From 1 October 2007, new national minimum wage (NMW) rates will come into force. The NMW applies to nearly all workers and sets hourly rates below which you must not allow pay to fall.

For pay reference periods beginning on or after 1 October 2007, you will have to pay all eligible workers the following:

• £5.52 an hour to adult workers aged 22 and above
• £4.60 an hour to workers aged 18-21 - the development rate
• £3.40 an hour to workers aged below 18 who are no longer of compulsory school age
• £4.30 a day (a total of £30.10 per week) as the daily accommodation offset - the amount you can offset from the NMW rate if you provide accommodation for your workers

Workers eligible for NMW include:

• homeworkers
• part-time workers
• casual workers
• agency workers
• people who work on short-term contracts

The NMW will not apply to training-related work experience in three new categories where workers are participating in:

• the Programme Led Apprenticeships scheme in England
• the European Community Leonardo da Vinci programme
• the European Community Youth in Action Programme

The NMW will also not apply to workers who are over compulsory school age and who are:

• undertaking a full- or part-time further education course and
• who are required, before the course ends and as part of that course, to attend a period of work experience not exceeding one year

For more information visit: www.businesslink.gov.uk