York - 
03 November 2015
Employment advice
Changes to the National Minimum Wage from 1st October 2015: £6.70 for those 21 years and over; £5.30 for those aged 18-20 years; £3.87 for those above school leaving age but under 18; £3.30 for apprentices. National Living Wage In April 2016 the "National Living Wage" will be introduced. For workers age 25 or over the national Living Wage will become a new legal minimum for workers aged 25 or over and will be set at £7.20 per hour. The government has published a policy paper explaining this at www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-living-wage-nlw/national-living-wage-nlw Comprehensive Information & Guidance on the NMW HMRC has published an extremely comprehensive collection of guidance, forms and case studies with information for employers on how to check that they are paying their employees the national minimum wage correctly. www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/nmwmanual/index.htm The application of…
25 October 2015
Wills and estates
Because you work hard all your life to build up your assets, it is very important to be confident that, upon your death, these assets go the people you would want them to go to. If you do not make a Will (or if your Will is incorrectly drafted or executed, which is always a risk if you have, for example, made a "do it yourself" Will), then there is a chance that assets will not go where you want them to. The story below gives an example of what can go wrong, and the outcome of that. Chris was aged 60, a widower with no children. Chris had a brother, Martin, to whom he was very close. Martin had a family and was in financial difficulty because he had recently been made redundant. Chris…
02 October 2015
Employment advice
A round-up of the main employment law changes coming into effect from autumn 2015. Gillian Reid, employment law specialist at Ware & Kay in York & Wetherby, outlines the main changes and the action you need to take as a result. National minimum wage rises The minimum wage is reviewed every year and traditionally it has been increased on 1 October. This year is no exception. The new hourly rates are: adult rate (21+): £6.70 development rate (18-20): £5.30 young workers rate (16-17): £3.87 apprenticeship rate: £3.30. The accommodation offset limit has risen to £5.35 per day. The government's new national living wage is due to take effect from next April. This will add a premium of 50p to the minimum wage for those over 25 so that the rate for those…
25 September 2015
Employment advice
The government claims to have doubled the number of apprenticeships since 2010 and recent figures reveal there are now 440,000 apprenticeships a year. Of those starting in the 2013/14 academic year, 53 per cent were female and 47 per cent were male. The majority of people chose apprenticeships in the service sectors and almost three quarters of new starts were in three sectors: business, healthcare and retail. There are currently 170 different apprenticeships available in 13 sectors. Gillian Reid, employment law specialist at Ware & Kay Solicitors in York, Wetherby & Malton , explains the rules if you already employ apprentices or if you are thinking about recruiting one. An apprenticeship is a work-based training programme that leads to a nationally recognised qualification. It can be for a fixed term or until a certain level…
15 September 2015
Employment advice
National Minimum Wage Increases from 1st October 2015 The national minimum wage hourly rate increases from 1 October are: Adults: £6.50 to £6.70 Young workers: £3.79 to £3.87 Apprentices: £2.73 to £3.30. The majority of workers aged 16 and over qualify to receive the national minimum wage. Exclusions from the right include au pairs, family members in the family business and voluntary workers. If you have any questions please contact our Employment Law Solicitor Gillian Reid on: 01904 716050 or Gillian.Reid@warekay.co.uk NEW: Quarterly tribunal statistics to June 2015 published The Ministry of Justice has published statistics in relation to all types of tribunal claims (including employment tribunals) for April to June 2015. The figures continue to show a decrease in the number of claims as compared to last year, including…
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