From 1 October 2009, the national minimum wage rate will increase to £5.80 per hour for workers aged 22 and over, £4.83 for workers aged 18 to 21, and £3.57 for workers aged 16 and 17. The adult rate will be extended to 21-year-olds from October 2010.
Also from 1 October, employers will be prohibited from counting service charges and tips towards the national minimum wage, whether or not they are processed through payroll (click here for details). The Court of Appeal has recently confirmed that tips distributed by troncmasters cannot count towards the employer's minimum wage obligations (Annabel's v HMRC, CA)
