What to do if you don’t think you are being paid the NMW.

The National Living and Minimum Wage increased on the 1st of April 2023.

The National Living Wage rate, which is for workers aged 23 years and over, increased by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour this April.

The National Minimum Wage, which has also increased, applies to those from school leaving age to 22. The hourly rate depends on your age and whether you are an apprentice.

All the new rate increases from 1 April 2023 are available to view on Check your pay – National Living and Minimum Wage.

You should check your payslip to ensure you’re not being underpaid. If you think you’re not being paid the correct amount you should:
• Have a conversation with your BFAWU rep and your employer.
• Visit gov.uk/checkyourpaycampaign for information about the new rates that apply to you and the steps you can take.
• Visit the ACAS website for free impartial advice or call Acas for free.
• Make an anonymous complaint to HMRC if the issue is not resolved.

You’ve earned it, make sure you’re getting it

Almost all workers in the UK are entitled to be paid at least the National Minimum Wage (NMW). The rate you are entitled to get depends on your age and whether you are an apprentice.

It is important that you are aware of the most common risks associated with the NMW and what could lead to you being underpaid. You may not be aware if something has gone wrong and you could still be underpaid if your rate of pay is at, or even slightly above minimum wage rates.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) have pulled together a simple NMW worker guide which explains this in more detail along with how you can submit a complaint  – please find this attached and feel free to share wider.

Last year, HMRC helped over 155,000 workers receive £16.7 million in back pay.

The link to the online complaints form can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/minimum-wage-complaint.

You can also find this by typing in “complain about pay and work rights” into google.

You can submit a complaint yourself as a worker with BFAWU support/assistance if you are a member, this is more likely to result in an employer investigation than if the complaint comes through as a third party i.e. one of our Full time officials.

Under no circumstances will HMRC disclose the name of any worker to their employer without their consent.