pay and benefits Archives

Do you know how your organisation is affected by the new workplace pensions duties? Under the auto-enrolment legislation, employers must auto-enrol "eligible jobholders" into a qualifying pension scheme and make mandatory employer contributions.

Employers also have certain duties in respect of "non-eligible jobholders" and "entitled workers". Employers that do not comply with their pensions duties face enforcement action from the Pensions Regulator, including escalating fines of up to £10,000 per day for persistent or serious breaches. All employers are affected, even ones who already provide their employees with access to an existing scheme.

Find out which categories your workers fall into, and how to comply with your obligations with our interactive Liveflo workflow. This new workflow will answer your pensions auto-enrolment questions and guide you through the process of assessing a worker for the purposes of pensions auto-enrolment. Each step in the process contains all the practical guidance you need.

As we celebrate Women's History Month in March, we recognize that 2013 marks the 50th anniversary of Betty Friedan's life changing book The Feminine Mystique which ignited the women's liberation movement and caused immense social and political change on all levels. Today, women can be seen in every facet of the workforce and hold positions as truck drivers, mail carriers and university presidents.  In recent years, we've also seen a female Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense and Speaker of the House in the US Congress.

However, a recent article in The Atlantic states that while the US workforce radically changed from the 1970s to 1990s and women entered the labor force in droves, the latest research shows the rest of the world has shot ahead and far surpassed the US when it comes to women in the workforce. The article questions whether the US is "falling behind on women in the workplace?" 

Currently, the US ranks 17th for women's workforce participation among 22 developed nations. Cornell University economists suggest this is not by accident. They suggest the US has not kept pace because significantly more family-friendly policies have been adopted elsewhere which make it easier for women to work part time and take time off after childbirth to care for young children. 

Challenge for Employers

It seems that the challenge for employers is in striking a balance between enacting family-friendly policies that will encourage talented women to stay in the workforce while minimizing the risk of sex discrimination and unlawful stereotyping of women as solely wives and mothers who must attend to caregiving responsibilities. 

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotamayor, only the third woman on the Court and the first Hispanic American woman, recently questioned whether if she had chosen to have a family, she could have advanced in the manner that she did. Facebook COO Cheryl Sandberg reviews women's progress in leadership roles in her new book, Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead, and encourages working women, especially mothers, to "lean in" and assert themselves in the workplace with the hope of achieving a balance between professional achievement and personal fulfillment.

However, the fact remains that employers must do everything they can to recruit and retain talented women and mothers, promote family-friendly policies and minimize liability for family responsibility discrimination and sex discrimination.

Employers Should Understand What Family Responsibility Discrimination Entails

Family responsibility discrimination (FRD) or caregiver discrimination is an umbrella term for different types of discrimination. In general, it occurs when employers treat employees or job applicants differently because of their caregiving responsibilities for young children, elderly parents, or partners or spouses.

No federal law explicitly prohibits FRD, but individuals can find protection under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act's ban on sex discrimination, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Equal Pay Act (EPA).  While men can also be subject to FRD, more women are victims. Examples of this type of discrimination include:

• Denying female employees with young children the same opportunities and compensation as male employees with young children; 
• Reassigning a new mother to less desirable tasks based on the assumption that she will be less committed to her job; 
• Retaliating against employees for seeking leave under the FMLA or taking time off to handle caregiving responsibilities; and
• Giving female employees lower subjective ratings after they take on caregiving responsibilities, without any actual decline in job performance.

What Employers Can Do

As a result, employers must be proactive and minimize the risk of engaging in family responsibility discrimination by taking the following affirmative steps:

• Implement and enforce practices that prohibit discrimination and harassment based on the family and caregiving responsibilities of employees such as discrimination and FMLA policies;
• Provide regular training sessions to all employees and supervisors so they know how to identify FRD in the workplace and work to create an atmosphere of tolerance and sensitivity with regard to caregiving responsibilities;
• Take all complaints of FRD seriously and respond immediately with a prompt investigation and if necessary, remedial measures; 
• Understand federal, state and local laws requiring employers to provide time off from work for caregiving responsibilities such as FMLA, school visitation leave, etc.;
• Reasonably accommodate employees' requests for leave, time-off or altered schedules which will allow them to balance work and family obligations; 
• Avoid negatively stereotyping employees and applicants with caregiving responsibilities and focus on qualifications and merit;
• Make sure policies and practices with regard to compensation and performance evaluations do not discriminate against employees based on caregiving responsibilities or discriminate based on sex;
• Consider flexible work arrangements such as telecommuting, job sharing, and permitting employees to work part time or flex schedules; and
• Provide family friendly incentives such as backup childcare and social work services.

Share Your Perspective

What types of measures have you instituted in your workplace to minimize family responsibility discrimination and promote women and mothers with caretaking responsibilities? We would love to hear your thoughts. Please get in touch via the comments box below or via BethZoller1 (twitter).

Why does the number of lawsuits filed under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) keep rising every year?

Some oft-repeated answers include:

• The bad economy led to layoffs, which in turn led to disgruntled workers filing more lawsuits;
• The FLSA's outdated and often ambiguous regulations make it difficult for an employer to comply; and
• The law's relatively lenient "similarly situated" standard makes it easier for plaintiffs' attorneys to mount collective action lawsuits.

It's likely that these all contribute to the annual increases, but they fall short of fully explaining them. After all, these factors all have remained constant while the volume of litigation has continued to expand.

While some FLSA lawsuits are without a doubt frivolous, it's fair to assume that plaintiffs' attorneys wouldn't spend the time, effort and money required to mount these lawsuits if they didn't believe they could win. And a fair number of them do win.

If more employers complied with the FLSA in the first place, the number of lawsuits would likely dry up - or at least stop rising. 

So maybe instead of asking why the number of FLSA lawsuits continues to rise we should ask why more employers aren't in compliance - especially when the increase in lawsuits and federal enforcement has been so well-publicized.

There's no way to know for sure without polling every employer in the US about their wage and hour practices. But a little informed speculation results in some possible explanations: 

An 'It Won't Happen to Us' Mentality - There were about 8,000 lawsuits filed under the FLSA last year. That represents one lawsuit for every 745 employers in the US - pretty long odds. But lightning does strike. Some unlucky employer is going to be the one that gets sued.

A False Sense of Confidence - All but 17 of the 205 respondents to a survey conducted by XpertHR last year either agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, "I feel confident that I can make well-founded employee classifications under the FLSA." Assuming their workforces don't consist entirely of easy-to-classify employees such as physicians, attorneys, accountants and pharmacists, one can't help but wonder if some HR professionals are overconfident. The FLSA regulations are notoriously difficult to apply - fact-specific and dependent on all the circumstances of the case, as federal judges and enforcement agents will remind you. 

Calculated Risk - Some employers may deliberately misclassify their employees as exempt or intentionally omit certain forms of working time as a calculated risk, knowing it could leave them vulnerable to a lawsuit. Such employers can be held liable for three years' worth of back wages, doubled as liquidated damages. Setting aside attorney fees, penalties and the remote possibility of personal liability, these employers essentially are facing double the costs of what they would have had to pay out anyway if they had complied in the first place.

Plain Old Ignorance - Not all HR professionals are as well-informed as those who read Employment Intelligence. Despite the avalanche of publicity about past wage and hour lawsuits, it's likely that many employers simply aren't aware of the risks. 

There's little reason to believe any of these dynamics will change in the near future. Until then, it's a fair bet the number of FLSA lawsuits will continue to grow.

FAQs on two current developments in employment law feature strongly in the most popular employers' questions in September. The top ten FAQs on XpertHR include questions on pensions auto-enrolment, which comes into force for the largest employers today, and questions on changes to the vetting and barring scheme, which took effect from 10 September 2012.

The auto-enrolment provisions are being phased in over the next five years. Employers will have a duty to auto-enrol certain workers into a pension scheme and make minimum contributions to the scheme.

1. What are the main changes in force from 10 September 2012 to the vetting and barring scheme for people working with children and vulnerable adults?
2. What are the main obligations on employers in relation to vetting and barring under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006?
3. What changes to workplace pension law will be made by the legislation on auto-enrolment?
4. Where an employee who has exhausted all entitlement to sick pay is to be dismissed on grounds of ill health will he or she be entitled to any payment throughout his or her notice period?
5. What is an "economic, technical or organisational reason" for dismissal under the TUPE Regulations 2006?
6. What is an internship?
7. Do the auto-enrolment provisions affect employers that already provide their employees with access to a pension scheme?
8. When does auto-enrolment come into force?
9. Under the vetting and barring scheme, what constitutes "regulated activity" in relation to children?
10. Can an employer dismiss an employee because he or she is in prison?

Photo: pbuergler

Today XpertHR publishes the latest statistics on pay settlements, showing that the median basic pay deal was 2.4% in the three months to the end of August 2012.

We also publish a comprehensive review of pay trends over the past year which is based on pay settlements covering more than one in four of the UK workforce.

You can read more on the Pay Intelligence blog.

[A] rise of 11p per hour is actually a pay cut in real terms. And as for young people working for the minimum wage, those that have jobs at all, they aren't likely to get any pay rise at all. The small increase in the minimum wage is symptomatic of what's happening to wages across the economy.

• XpertHR economic commentary October 2012: A lack of oomph
  XpertHR's latest monthly economic commentary article includes complete details of the national minimum wage rates for 2012/2013.

• Visit XpertHR's Pay Intelligence blog; or
• Read Benchmarking Company Car Purchase Prices or
• Visit the landing page for these resources: XpertHR company car and car allowance benchmarkers.
  

Is your organisation fully aware of its pensions auto-enrolment obligations?

To try to ensure that the country’s workforce saves adequately for retirement, the Government has introduced pensions auto-enrolment. Whatever your company’s size and however good its current pension arrangements are, the new pensions auto-enrolment laws apply to your organisation.

To help you find out what you need to do to prepare for your organisation’s pensions auto-enrolment staging date, Personnel Today is running a free 60-minute webinar on the subject on Tuesday 21 August 2012. To sign up, simply complete the form.

With the competition for skilled labour remaining despite high unemployment, when the UK finally pulls out of recession organisations are likely to turn to overtime to help meet demand.

XpertHR can help you plan for and manage overtime at your organisation - take part in our research and you will be entitled to a complimentary copy of our findings as soon as our research has been completed. 

• Take part in our overtime survey Taking part is your chance to benchmark your organisation's figures against those of other employers.

The survey remains open until 8 June 2012. 

Topics covered in the survey include:

• Organisations' use of overtime.
• Payment of overtime - rates and calculation of.
• Allocation of overtime.
• Measures taken to reduce overtime.

Pensions auto-enrolment remains the topic that is most exercising employers at the moment.

FAQs on the upcoming changes to workplace pension rules and employers' duties towards their workers continue to feature among the most popular FAQs on XpertHR.

Other employers' questions in April's top 10 HR questions cover the provision of references, re-employing redundant employees, additional paternity leave and penalties for misconduct.

1. Which employees qualify for automatic enrolment into a pension scheme?
2. What is a "qualifying scheme" under the pensions auto-enrolment provisions?
3. Must an employer always obtain an individual's consent before providing a reference for him or her?
4. Is an employer obliged to wait a certain period of time before re-employing an employee who was dismissed for redundancy?
5. Do the auto-enrolment provisions affect employers that already provide their employees with access to a pension scheme?
6. Can employers be held liable for harassment that takes place during a work-related social event?
7. Is the mother obliged to return to work before taking her full 52-week maternity leave entitlement for the father to be able to take additional paternity leave?
8. What information must employers provide to employees about pensions auto-enrolment?
9. Where an employee is given a warning for a particular conduct issue, but then commits a different type of misconduct, can the employer move to the next stage of the disciplinary procedure to address that issue or must it start a separate procedure?
10. Under the Equality Act 2010, can an employee bring a claim for harassment where the unwanted conduct is not directed at him or her?

Photo: ryanmilani

With little to offer in the way of pay rises, many organisations are now looking at their benefits packages to ensure they provide value for money for them and the right mix for their employees. Our 2012 benefits and allowances survey has already received responses from more than 250 organisations, who have told us about their benefits provision from health and travel benefits to pensions, long-service awards and allowances.

Participating in our 2012 benefits and allowances survey will enable you to benchmark your organisation's benefits arrangements against other participants for free.

All survey participants will receive a free copy of the 2012 research report, and will be entered into a prize draw to win one of four £25 Marks & Spencer vouchers.

Click here to take part.

Employers are already preparing for the new pension auto-enrolment rules, which will start to affect the largest employers from October this year. The top ten FAQs on XpertHR for March 2012 include a couple of questions on auto-enrolment, as well as an FAQ on how the increase to the unfair dismissal qualifying period, which takes place on 6 April 2012, will work in practice.

Other questions in the top ten look at redundancy selection pools, time off for antenatal care and variation of contractual hours.

1. When does auto-enrolment come into force?
2. Does the April 2012 increase in the qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims from one to two years apply retrospectively?
3. Can an employer change an employee's hours where there is no contractual clause authorising it to do so?
4. What changes to workplace pension law will be made by the legislation on auto-enrolment?
   
5. If an employee has a really bad attitude, is this a conduct or capability issue?
6. In which redundancy situations will it not be necessary to determine a redundancy selection pool?
7. Can an employer dismiss an employee because he or she is in prison?
8. What rights do employees have in relation to time off work for antenatal care?
9. If an employer pays an employee in lieu of notice, is the payment taxable?
10. Can the transferee change the contracts of the incoming employees upon the transfer of a business covered by TUPE?

Photo:tj scenes

• For full details of the national minimum wage rates for 2011/2012, see National minimum wage 2012/2013: Adult rate increases by 1.8% to £6.19 per hour; younger workers' rates frozen on XpertHR's Pay Intelligence blog.
• National minimum wage (Subscription required) XpertHR's statutory rates service provides full details of the national minimum wage rates for 2012/2013.

Workplace pensions law is changing. Starting from 1 October 2012, employers will, for the first time, have to enrol workers into a suitable pension scheme and pay contributions for them. These requirements are being introduced because of concerns about the lack of pension saving in the UK. Approximately 670,000 employers offer no pension provision according to Department for Work and Pensions estimates (see Impact Assessment of Pension (Automatic Enrolment) Regulations 2009 (PDF format, 107K) (on its website)).

Pay award levels fell to historically low levels during 2009 and 2010, and didn't recover much during 2011. However, data for pay settlements effective in 2012 has revealed a significant increase in the level of pay rises. But will this continue?

To find out, XpertHR are launching a confidential pay forecasting survey which will establish likely pay trends over the coming year. We would greatly appreciate your assistance with our research by completing our questionnaire.

The survey is entirely confidential, and all respondents will receive a copy of the report as soon as it is published at the end of March.

Click here to take part.

New XpertHR research presents salary prospects for graduates in the 2011/12 hiring round - and finds that salary levels are frozen for the third consecutive year. The 22nd XpertHR survey of graduate recruitment covers 182 employers collectively employing more than one million people.

This XpertHR survey finds that the typical median (or midpoint) rise between 2010/11 and 2011/12 was nil. The average rise in salaries was 1.8%, a marginal increase on 2010 and 2009, when the average increase was 1.4% and 0.8% respectively. The salary freeze for graduates remains notably lower than the 2% headline basic pay award for the economy as a whole.

But neither salary change (for graduates or employees as a whole) comes close to the inflationary rise in the UK cost of living - 5.2% as measured by the retail prices index and 4.8% according to the consumer prices index for November 2011.

Starting salaries for graduate recruits will be based on a median (midpoint figure) of £24,500 in 2011/12.

• The national minimum wage: 'A machine to destroy jobs'? Read more on XpertHR's Pay Intelligence blog.

• For more on the Bank of England research and how it relates to the current UK economic outlook, head to XpertHR's Pay Intelligence blog to read XpertHR's February 2012 economic commentary.

• XpertHR economic commentary January 2012: Welcome to 'no-growth Britain'? This article includes analysis of 2012 pay prospects for workers in the public sector and in the private sector.
• Review of XpertHR's pay data, 2007-2011 (XpertHR subscription required) XpertHR pay specialist Jo Doonar provides an insight into the pay data that can be found on XpertHR and look back at settlement trends between 2007 and 2011.
  

Salary increases in the UK are not keeping pace with the rising cost of living, and employees are finding it difficult. But the economic situation is still volatile so organisations are being cautious with their fixed costs, such as salaries. Committing to higher salary increases reduces a company's flexibility and manoeuvrability if the economy does drop again. While restraint is painful for everyone in the short term, it is also prudent, and if it ensures the survival of the company it is in the longer term interests of employer and employee.

• For further details, please see the XpertHR economic commentary December 2011: In the bleak midwinter

• Executive pay controversy 2011: Plus ça change... See Update 4 for full details of Brooks' post on the CIPD website, and of his recent criticisms of IDS in other areas.
• Executive pay controversy 2011: IDS reports 'exaggerated & misleading increase,' says Hay Group
• Executive pay controversy 2011: Of means and medians
  

• To catch up on the full story, see: Executive pay controversy 2011: Plus ça change...

• For full details, see: Executive pay controversy 2011: Plus ça change...

• One in six private sector employers is increasing their spend on company-wide Christmas parties from last year.
• Across the whole economy, employers report a planned median Christmas spend (comprising planned spending on Christmas parties, lunches, employee gifts and bonuses for 2011) of £31.50 per employee (see chart).
  
• A sectoral breakdown of planned Christmas spending for 2011 reveals a stark contrast between the private and public sectors. The median Christmas spend per head is £37 among manufacturers, and £35 in services, but stands at nil in the public sector.
  

1. Since its introduction in 1999, the adult rate of the national minimum wage has increased by 68.9%, rising from the introductory rate of £3.60 per hour in April 1999 to its current level of £6.08 per hour in 2011/2012. Track the last five years' national minimum wage increases (XpertHR subscription required).
2. The Low Pay Commission (LPC) estimates that there are 1,077,000 "minimum wage jobs" in the UK (see Figure 2.2 on page 19 of the LPC's 2011 report). The LPC says minimum wage jobs are "more likely to be: part-time; temporary; held for less than a year; in the private sector; in small and medium sized firms; and in certain low-paying industries and occupations. [...] In private sector organisations nearly 6 per cent of jobs are minimum wage ones but only 1 per cent of jobs in public sector organisations are."
3. The 2011/2012 national minimum wage adult rate of £6.08 per hour is worth 51.9% of median earnings for individuals aged 21 and over, according to LPC estimates.
4. Nearly two-fifths of employers surveyed by XpertHR in 2011 said that the national minimum wage should be updated every two years (XpertHR Benchmarking subscription required). It is possible that they might get their wish: The Coalition Government has asked the Low Pay Commission (LPC) to consider "the option of two-year recommendations" for future national minimum wage increases.
5. One in ten employers says their experience of the national minimum wage (XpertHR Benchmarking subscription required) since its introduction in April 1999 has been "very positive," while a further one in five say it has been "quite positive." Just over half (50.7%) say it has had no impact at all.

New FAQs setting out the new rules on the VAT treatment of taxable benefits under salary-sacrifice arrangements, which are due to change from 1 January 2012, have been popular on XpertHR over the last month.

As a result of a decision of the European Court of Justice, from 1 January 2012, employers will have to account for VAT based on the amount of salary given up by the employee under a salary-sacrifice scheme. The FAQs deal with how the new rules affect cycle-to-work schemes, retail voucher schemes and chidcare vouchers.

Unsuprisingly, employers' questions on the Agency Workers Regulations 2010, which are in force from 1 October 2011, remained among the most frequently visited FAQs on XpertHR. Other questions in the top ten for September cover sick pay, interns, variation of contract and time off for employees to attend court.

• The national minimum wage adult rate increases to £6.08 per hour for 2011/2012. This represents an increase of 2.5% on the 2010/2011 national minimum wage adult rate, which previously stood at £5.93 per hour (from 1 October 2010 to 30 September 2011). The 2011/2012 national minimum wage adult rate (at £6.08 per hour) is therefore set 15p per hour higher than the 2010/2011 rate. The Low Pay Commission's (LPC) 2011 report says that "the 2011/2012 national minimum wage adult rate increase "take[s] account of the continued economic uncertainty while protecting the lowest-paid workers from falling further behind the average."
• The national minimum wage "youth development rate" (for workers aged 18 to 20) rises to £4.98 per hour (an increase of 6p per hour, or 1.2%, from the previous rate of £4.92 per hour).
• The national minimum wage youth rate (for workers aged 16 and 17) now stands at £3.68 per hour (an increase of 4p per hour, or 1.1%, from the 2010/2011 rate of £3.64 per hour).
• The apprentice minimum wage rate rises from to £2.60 per hour (an increase of 10p per hour, or 4.0%, from the 2010/2011 rate of £2.50 per hour).
• The Government has published guidance on the national minimum wage for interns (XpertHR subscription required). XpertHR reports that the guidance "confirms that entitlement to the national minimum wage does not depend on an individual's job title but on whether the arrangement that he or she has with an organisation makes him or her a 'worker' for national minimum wage purposes."
• Click here for further details of the decisions underpinning the 2011/2012 national minimum wage increases.

• The remit for the LPC's 2012 report includes a "simplification agenda," under which the LPC must "consider whether national minimum wage regulations can be made even simpler and easier to administer." One aspect of this "simplification agenda" is to consider "the removal, simplification or consolidation of any elements of the national minimum wage." The LPC is also tasked to "consider the best way to give business greater clarity on future levels of the national minimum wage, including the option of two-year recommendations." Such a move would address a common complaint from some employers, who feel that the current system does not provide sufficient time to prepare for each year's national minimum wage increase.  Indeed, nearly two-fifths of employers surveyed by XpertHR in 2011 said that the national minimum wage should be updated every two years (XpertHR Benchmarking subscription required).
• The LPC's remit for 2012 also includes the following task: "Review the labour market position of young people, including those in apprenticeships and internships." The Daily Telegraph reported that LPC chief economist Tim Butcher has suggested that (as the Telegraph puts it) "firms may be reluctant to create jobs by recruiting inexperienced staff because they are put off by the increased wage bill." It says that this perspective will inform the LPC's review of the labour market position of young people. It quotes Tim Butcher as follows: "We don't know what the [national] minimum wage effect is in isolation from the recession effect. We do know recessions affect young people as employers operate first-in, first-out and look for people with experience."
• In late November 2011, the Coalition Government announced what it termed "the most radical reform to the employment law system for decades." Its proposals included further detail on the national minimum wage simplification agenda. XpertHR reports that "The Government will simplify the legislation by merging the current body of 17 different regulations into one consolidated set."
• Further down the line, reports suggest that the Coalition Government will announce plans to remove income tax obligations from workers receiving the national minimum wage in time for the 2015 general election. The Guardian's Allegra Stratton reports: "[The Government is] committed to raising the income-tax-free threshold to £10,000 by 2015, but they would like to go into the next election pledging to lift all low earners on the [national] minimum wage or less out of income tax altogether. A pre-election reintroduction of the 10p rate would ease life for those on just that little bit above £10k before they can be given their earnings fully tax-free."
• The LPC's invitation to tender for research for its 2013 report offers further clues as to what might be in store for the national minimum wage. These include a planned focus on "the impact [of the national minimum wage] on young people (including raising the participation age)," as well as analysis of the impact of the national minimum wage "on earnings, employment and hours" and "on the consumption spending of minimum wage workers." Presumably, the LPC's report for 2013 - which will set out its recommendations for the national minimum wage rate for 2013/2014 - will not be scheduled to be delivered to the Government until the end of February 2013.  
  

• British Retail Consortium (BRC) Director General, Stephen Robertson says: "We are asking that [the October 2012 national] minimum wage rise is kept at 2.1 per cent or below."
  
• The CBI wants to see "a highly cautious approach to the adult national minimum wage in light of the weak and uncertain economic recovery and high levels of unemployment." It says that "given the particularly challenging employment prospects for young people, with the youth unemployment rate above 20%, controlling the youth and apprentice rates will be vital."
  
• The CIPD has called on the LPC to recommend that national minimum wage rates paid to younger workers be frozen in 2012/2013. In a Twitter discussion with me and @neilmorrison earlier today (Monday 3 October 2011), the CIPD stated that it believes that the "national minimum wage is harming youth employment in some sectors," and should therefore be frozen next year (although it notes that this is "a finely balanced decision"). The CIPD also said (again via Twitter): "we've called for a freeze in past. We support NMW, but with rising unmplyment, temp freeze may be for greater good." The CIPD believes that such a national minimum wage freeze for 2012/2013 should be confined to younger workers. It says that the "adult rate appears to have less overall impact but there are variations by region & sector. So policy focus wld be on the yth rates." The CIPD argues that it would like to see national minimum wage rates for younger workers frozen until the economy recovers: "The freeze could be absolute or relative, but would last until we see more robust growth." Access the CIPD's full submission to the LPC here.
• The TUC wants to see an above-inflation increase to the national minimum wage in 2012/2013. It says that national minimum wage increases set at "more than the retail prices index (RPI) [inflation] or the growth in average earnings - depending on which is higher - is both necessary and affordable, and will help address the loss in the real value of the NMW caused by below-inflation increases in the rate in previous years." Access the TUC's full submission to the LPC here.
• Unison is calling for rapid increases to take the national minimum wage significantly higher, to stand at £8 per hour in 2012/2013. Unison says it will "continue to campaign for a substantial increase [to the national minimum wage], in line with the rising cost of living. The union's recent submission to the Low Pay Commission also called for all employees to have access to a living wage of £8 an hour."
  

• The national minimum wage: 'A machine to destroy jobs'? "The minimum wage is a machine to destroy jobs." This is according to Prudential Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday 26 January 2012. Thiam argued that the national minimum wage is a "false social policy" designed to protect workers, but which serves to prevent the unemployed from finding work.

• National minimum wage 2012/2013: Rates for younger workers 'most likely to be frozen', says Telegraph The national minimum wage adult rate could be increased with effect from 1 october 2012, but national minimum wage rates paid to younger workers are "most likely to be frozen," the Telegraph reports.
  

[I]n 2010-11 earnings, state benefits and tax credits fell in real-terms. This is likely to have led to the largest drop in average net household incomes in any single year since 1981, and would leave them at their 2003-04 level. It seems that the impact of the GR on net household incomes in the UK was not felt until after the economy had stopped contracting. The pain was delayed, not avoided. [...] Declines in living standards look set to continue until at least 2013-14. If realised, this would mean that average living standards had not grown in well over ten years, making it one of the worst decades for changes in living standards since at least the Second World War.

[W]e are in a topsy-turvy period. For most people, recovery is proving far more painful than recession. Real incomes held up surprisingly well in the recession but are falling sharply in the recovery.

For the time being, employers are unable to respond to high inflation by paying matching increases in employees' wage packets. Instead, company performance/ability to pay is one of the most important influences on pay settlements, according to the latest XpertHR research.

• For more on the gap between pay and inflation and its consequences for UK households, see the August 2011 XpertHR Economic Commentary.

• The whole economy median pay award has held at 2% (subscription required) for a second consecutive rolling quarter, over the three months to 31 May 2011.
• RPI inflation - the most commonly-used inflation measure among private sector pay setters - is forecast to come in at 5.2% in the third quarter of 2011, before easing slightly to 4.9% in the fourth quarter. This is according to latest expert forecasts on inflation (subscription required), compiled by XpertHR.
  

• See: XpertHR economic commentary July 2011: What can we expect from the second half of 2011?

The pressure is on for employers to pay people on work experience if they contribute to the work of the organisation, following a Government social mobility report, and recommendations from the 2010 Low Pay Commission report.

In the light of this, it is interesting to discover that four in ten (44%) employers don't pay any of their student or graduate internships a wage, according to the findings of the XpertHR work experience and internship survey (subscription required). A similar proportion (38%) don't pay their expenses, and 27% pay neither wages nor expenses.

The Institute for Public Policy Research report "Why interns need a fair wage" suggested that the legislation surrounding the payment of interns is a grey area for employers, and the survey does nothing to negate this view. It found little consistency between employers in their approaches to the payment of interns, and within some organisations one intern could be paid and another not, for no clearly defined reason.

I discuss more of the findings from the XpertHR survey on work experience and internships on XpertHR's Pay Intelligence blog.

The recession has had an impact on the operation of merit schemes in more than four-fifths of surveyed employers. Of those that report an effect, more than three-fifths say that the difficult economic climate has prompted their organisation to exercise a tighter control over paybill costs.

I've written a post on the income squeeze that lower-paid employees are currently experiencing and whether the living wage might play a part in alleviating it. You can find it over on the Pay Intelligence blog.

Last months' top ten FAQs on XpertHR highlight the new legislation employers have had to get on top of in April, and of course the multiple bank holidays, which always throw up questions to be answered. The removal of the default retirement age continues to exercise HR departments and additional paternity leave is beginning to become a practical concern, even though the legislation itself has been in force for a year.

One piece of legislation, not yet in force but in the news last month, is the Bribery Act 2010. The Government published its official guidance on the Act at the end of March. Our FAQ on "adequate procedures" to prevent bribery was updated to reflect this.

• The national minimum wage "youth development rate" (for workers aged 18 to 20) will rise from £4.92 per hour to £4.98 per hour (an increase of 6p per hour, or 1.2%).
• The national minimum wage youth rate (for workers aged 16 and 17) will rise from £3.64 per hour to £3.68 per hour (an increase of 4p per hour, or 1.1%).
• The apprentice minimum wage rate will rise from £2.50 per hour to £2.60 per hour (an increase of 10p per hour, or 4.0%).

With the bank holiday season upon us, XpertHR’s resources on bank and public holidays provide comprehensive guidance on whether or not employees are entitled to take time off.

The XpertHR quick reference section sets out the bank and public holiday dates in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland:

• Bank and public holidays 2011 (England and Wales)
• Bank and public holidays 2011 (Northern Ireland)
• Statutory bank holidays 2011 (Scotland)

The XpertHR FAQs section on holiday and holiday pay answers employers’ FAQs on whether or not employees are entitled to an additional day’s paid leave on 29 April 2011 (the day of the royal wedding, in case it has escaped anyone’s attention). This will depend on the wording of the contract:

• Can bank holidays be included in a worker’s statutory leave entitlement?
• Are employees entitled to time off for bank holidays in addition to the statutory minimum annual leave entitlement of 5.6 weeks?
• What is an employee’s holiday entitlement if an extra bank holiday is granted one year?
• Is an employee who is required to work on bank holidays entitled to extra pay?

The latest inflation figures (PDF format, 139Kb) out from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) this morning reveal that:

• Inflation on the government's preferred measure - the Consumer Prices Index - fell from 4.4% in February 2011 to 4.0% in March. The UK's rate for February compares to a provisional EU average of 2.8%, according to the ONS.
• There was also a slight drop in the level of Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation, which is the the measure most commonly used as a benchmark for pay rises. This fell from 5.5% in February 2011 to 5.3% in March.

Despite this fall, the latest figures from XpertHR show that the going rate for pay rises (a median 2.3% for the three months to February 2011) lags far behind the cost of living. Check our Pay Intelligence blog for the next XpertHR data on pay deals, due out on 29 April 2011.

• Why do women predominate in HR?
• Has HR become increasingly 'female' over the years?
• Is the HR profession more 'equal' than others?

• Why is the ratio of women to men in HR director roles so unrepresentative?

• The UK HR profession is 75.8% female and 'HR is a 47 year old white woman' From XpertHR Employment Intelligence.
• The feminisation of HR Rick (author of the excellent Flip Chart Fairy Tales blog) writes "that HR has become a lot more female over the past two decades" - based on what he has perceived since entering the UK HR profession in the 1980s.
  

XpertHR has now published the results of a major survey of private sector employers [£] on the prospects for pay rises over the next 12 months, as I promised yesterday.

The survey, which is based on responses from 315 organisations employing more than three-quarters of a million people, suggests that the median pay rise over the year to the end of February 2012 is likely to be around 2%. You can read more about the findings on the Pay Intelligence blog.

XpertHR will shortly be publishing the results of a new survey of private sector employers that asks them about their pay intentions for the year ahead.

The survey of 315 firms - employing more than three-quarters of a million people - will suggest that wage rises in the private sector are set to remain low or modest at best over the coming year (I'll post more about these findings on the Pay Intelligence blog when the survey is published tomorrow morning).

One question asked employers whether they thought that their organisation would be making any changes to employment, pay or employee terms and conditions over the coming year.

I have used wordle to create the word cloud below based on the responses of the 174 employers (55% of the sample) that both answered yes to that question and told us what changes they anticipate (for the 12 months to the end of February 2012).

I'm just finishing off a series of posts from the XpertHR reward and benefits conference today, which has heard some really thought-provoking contributions and questions covering:

Total reward;

bonuses and variable reward;

Incentivising and retaining talent; and

developing a reward strategy.

We've just been hearing about ambitious - and  controversial - plans for a new pay system at Camden Council, from HR Director Mike Cooke and are finishing up with a lively (no really) run-through the pensions scene from Paul Macro, Senior Consultant at Towers Watson.

If reward and benefits is your thing, then please take a look at the Pay Intelligence blog and let me know your thoughts using the comments box.

The final report of the Hutton Review of Fair Pay in the Public Sector has been published this morning and I take an initial look at the proposals over on the Pay Intelligence blog.

Reward schemes and employee benefits can be a cost-effective way of rewarding high-performing employees, helping employers to engage their workforce and enhance productivity even at a time when many budget cuts are being made.

• The BRC wants an increase of "no more than 1.7%" to the national minimum wage for 2011/2012.
• The BCC argues that "youth and development rates" should be frozen or reduced for 2011/2012 takes effect on 1 October 2011, to combat high and rising youth unemployment.
  

Update (Thursday 7 April 2011) >> National minimum wage 2011/2012 announced:

The national minimum wage adult rate will increase to £6.08 per hour for 2011/2012, with effect from 1 October 2011. This represents an increase of 2.5% from the 2010/2011 national minimum wage adult rate, which currently stands at £5.93 per hour (from 1 October 2010 to 30 September 2011). The 2011/2012 national minimum wage adult rate (at £6.08 per hour) is therefore set 15p per hour higher than the 20102/011 rate.

According to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) the national minimum wage rates for 2011/2012 will be as follows:

The following rates will come into effect on 1 October 2011:

• The adult rate will increase by 15p to £6.08 an hour;
• The rate for 18-20 year olds will increase by 6p to £4.98 an hour;
• The rate for 16-17 year olds will increase by 4p to £3.68 an hour; and
• The rate for apprentices will increase by 10p to £2.60 an hour.
  

Business Secretary Vince Cable comments:

More than 890,000 of Britain's lowest-paid workers will gain from these changes. They are appropriate - reflecting the current economic uncertainty while at the same time protecting the UK's lowest-paid workers. I would like to thank the LPC for doing a good job in difficult circumstances.

The BBC's Robert Peston comments via Twitter:

Today's announced increase in the minimum wage of 2.5% to 608p is considerably less than current rate of inflation.

Previous updates:

The headline pay award - as measured by the XpertHR pay databank - appears to be showing a renewed stability around the 2% median. Yet pay awards have come in significantly below inflation for many months, and the gap is getting wider. Find out more about the widening gap between pay awards and inflation on XpertHR's Pay Intelligence blog.

• Pay Forecasts 2011 XpertHR is currently running a unique pay forecasting survey to gauge employers' pay intentions over the coming year, and would like to request your assistance with our research.

• Economic commentary February 2011: Putting 'Osbornomics' to the test.

Public sector spending cuts are the issue for 2011. Political reputations, organisational effectiveness and, most importantly, peoples' jobs are all on the line.

This week we're going to be taking a quick look at some of the options available to public sector employers and HR functions.

Option #1: pay freeze + reduced benefits

• Incremental pay progression suspended
• Mileage rate reduced
• Requirement to take unpaid annual leave
• Car parking charges for employees

There is a quite a bit that can be said about this but most of it is fairly apparent (although please do feel free to add comments below).

Do you work in the public sector? What difficult decisions has your organisation been making?

>> Take part in our entirely confidential survey here

XpertHR is currently investigating how public sector employers are reacting to spending cuts imposed by the coalition government.

This survey is your chance to get the very latest information and analysis on how other public sector employers and HR practitioners are responding to the extensive public spending cuts.

Photo: tpholland, Richmond Council Chamber

Over on the Pay Intelligence blog, I have taken a look at the issue of how pay awards have lagged behind inflation in recent months, meaning pay cuts in real terms for many.

Earlier this week the Telegraph ran an article on how little public money will be spent on publicising employment law changes taking effect this year and the next, such as the new national minimum wage rates which took effect on 1 October 2010.

On the XpertHR Pay Intelligence blog, I take a look at what this means for awareness of the national minimum wage, where the Government has already outlined a strategy based on "low or no cost" communications.

Employers' questions on the Equality Act 2010 feature strongly in the top ten FAQs on XpertHR for October 2010, as the legislation finally came into effect.

In particular, employers wanted to know whether or not they could still ask questions about a prospective employee's health, or about the number of days' sickness absence he or she has had. The FAQ spelling out which provisions of the Act are in force from 1 October 2010 was another popular question.

Employers were also looking for information on the changes to the national minimum wage, which came into force on 1 October.

The government has set out its plans (on the DWP website) to introduce automatic employee enrolment into workplace pensions from October 2012 and require employers to contribute to a pension scheme for the first time.

Two years sounds like a long time away, but for employers there is plenty of preparation that will need to be done. Read about it on the Pay Intelligence blog.

Private sector employers are predicting pay rises of 2% in 2011, according to research published (subscription required) by pay specialists XpertHR.

The findings are based on a survey of 296 private companies, covering 626 different groups of employees.

Public sector pay is "generous" and increasing faster than in the private sector, according to the Comprehensive Spending Review. However, my examination of the available pay data fails to uncover such a wide disparity as suggested.

Read my analysis over on XpertHR's pay intelligence blog.

In her post on the Guardian's Comment is Free blog today, Minister for Women and Equalities Theresa May seeks to position today's implementation of most of the 2010 Equality Act as a key milestone in women's historic fight for equal pay, currently dramatised in the film Made in Dagenham which is released today.

The School Support Staff Negotiating Body is one of the quangos earmarked for abolition, according to the leaked Cabinet Office list published by the Daily Telegraph today (24 September 2010). Our new Pay Intelligence blog looks at this in more detail.

While many employees struggle by on statutory sick pay (at a measily £79.15 a week) when they are ill, others benefit from occupational sick pay schemes that replace normal earnings, which can mean a hefty bill for employers.

If you complete the XpertHR sick pay survey you will receive a free, comprehensive report on sick pay rates and arrangements. See the XpertHR Pay Intelligence blog for more information.

There's still time to take part in the 2010/2011 XpertHR survey of private sector pay prospects, which will provide the essential guide on what to expect from private sector pay over the coming year. But make sure that you get your entry in quickly, as the online questionnaire closes on Friday 10 September 2010.

If you are reading this, then there is a fair chance that you have a professional interest in pay and reward issues. And if so, we hope you will check out the new XpertHR Pay Intelligence blog.

We are currently collecting pay data for the XpertHR core business salary surveys. These cover employees in HR, sales and marketing, finance and general management/admin functions. To find out more about taking part, click here.

I have also posted a piece about what's happening to HR professionals' own pay based on our most recent data on our new XpertHR Pay Intelligence blog. This blog is still in development, but if you would like a sneak pre-launch preview, click here.

A tribunal in Northern Ireland has awarded £45,000 to a woman whose employer pretended that she was working part time while she was pregnant so that it didn't have to pay statutory maternity pay to her.

Inflation is high, the prospects for the economy are uncertain and the impact of huge public spending cuts to come is unknown.

The latest data from XpertHR reveals that the median pay award was 1% in the three months to July 2010, but there are signs that pay awards may start to rise in value, with the proportion of pay freezes falling.

In this complex environment, how are you going to help your organisation decide what to pay employees in 2011?

We use a consistent methodology to collect, verify and analyse company data. All data for any given survey is typically provided by an organisation's HR department who will provide demographic, pay and benefits data for each employee.

Full Time Equivalent (FTE) salaries are provided for part time employees to ensure that part time salaries do not distort the overall results. Data is collected as accurate on a given date, to ensure that pay data is consistent from one participant to the next, and to allow year-on-year trends.

A group of factory workers who have to clock off and have deductions made from their pay every time they go to the toilet are taking their employer to an employment tribunal, according to the Daily Mail website.

A round-up of links to news items on recent employment tribunal rulings, including: a police officer who was forced out after blowing the whistle on a colleague; an investment banker who is seeking £13.5 million after successfully claiming sex discrimination; and an Israeli lecturer who claimed religious discrimination after she converted to Christianity.

New figures derived from XpertHR salary surveys data suggest that UK businesses are still more than five decades away from paying men and women equally. What follows is based on the press release we and the Chartered Management Institute issued today.

A detailed analysis of data from the XpertHR National Management Salary Survey carried out by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), which has been associated with the report since its launch in the early 1970s, reveals that women's salaries increased by 2.8 per cent over the past 12 months, compared to 2.3 per cent for men.

Besides the mixed picture on unemployment, the monthly labour market statistics released yesterday (PDF format, 327.8k) show that average earnings growth has slowed, with the headline rate at half that of the previous month's figure.

Average weekly earnings growth (including bonuses) for the whole economy was 1.3% in the year to June 2010, compared to 2.7% in the 12 months to May.

To some extent, this represents the annual bonus round - which usually bolsters total pay growth in the first quarter of the year - falling out of the earnings figures. The slowdown was certainly most pronounced in the private sector, with total earnings growth slowing to 0.8% in the 12 months to June from 2.9% the year to May, compared with a fall from 1.6% to 1.4% in the public sector.

Update (Thursday 7 April 2011) >> National minimum wage 2011/2012 announced:

The national minimum wage adult rate will increase to £6.08 per hour for 2011/2012, with effect from 1 October 2011. This represents an increase of 2.5% from the 2010/2011 national minimum wage adult rate, which currently stands at £5.93 per hour (from 1 October 2010 to 30 September 2011). The 2011/2012 national minimum wage adult rate (at £6.08 per hour) is therefore set 15p per hour higher than the 20102/011 rate.

According to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) the national minimum wage rates for 2011/2012 will be as follows:

The following rates will come into effect on 1 October 2011:

• The adult rate will increase by 15p to £6.08 an hour;
• The rate for 18-20 year olds will increase by 6p to £4.98 an hour;
• The rate for 16-17 year olds will increase by 4p to £3.68 an hour; and
• The rate for apprentices will increase by 10p to £2.60 an hour.
  

Business Secretary Vince Cable comments:

More than 890,000 of Britain's lowest-paid workers will gain from these changes. They are appropriate - reflecting the current economic uncertainty while at the same time protecting the UK's lowest-paid workers. I would like to thank the LPC for doing a good job in difficult circumstances.

The BBC's Robert Peston comments via Twitter:

Today's announced increase in the minimum wage of 2.5% to 608p is considerably less than current rate of inflation.

Previously:

• 2011 Budget: Can we expect an announcement on the national minimum wage 2011/2012? Can we expect the national minimum wage rate for 2011/2012 (which will come into effect from 1 October 2011) to be announced in the 2011 Budget speech, which Chancellor George Osborne is set to deliver on Wednesday 23 March 2011? The national minimum wage 2011/2012 announcement will be highly anticipated, as this will represent the first time that the level of the national minimum wage will have been set under a Conservative Chancellor since the introduction of the national minimum wage in 1999.

• National minimum wage 2011/2012: Freeze or cut rates for younger workers, says BCC
  

• A policy on enforcement, prosecutions and naming employers who flout national minimum wage law (PDF format, 108.2K) came into effect on 1 January 2011.
• National minimum wage 2011/2012: Employers suggest rise to £6
• National minimum wage 2010/2011: Travel expenses to temporary workplaces no longer count
• National minimum wage 2010/2011: What are the new rates for 2010/2011?
• National minimum wage 2011/2012: CIPD calls for intern 'training wage' of £2.50 per hour

Update (Thursday 7 April 2011) >> National minimum wage 2011/2012 announced:

The national minimum wage adult rate will increase to £6.08 per hour for 2011/2012, with effect from 1 October 2011. This represents an increase of 2.5% from the 2010/2011 national minimum wage adult rate, which currently stands at £5.93 per hour (from 1 October 2010 to 30 September 2011). The 2011/2012 national minimum wage adult rate (at £6.08 per hour) is therefore set 15p per hour higher than the 20102/011 rate.

According to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) the national minimum wage rates for 2011/2012 will be as follows:

The following rates will come into effect on 1 October 2011:

• The adult rate will increase by 15p to £6.08 an hour;
• The rate for 18-20 year olds will increase by 6p to £4.98 an hour;
• The rate for 16-17 year olds will increase by 4p to £3.68 an hour; and
• The rate for apprentices will increase by 10p to £2.60 an hour.
  

Business Secretary Vince Cable comments:

More than 890,000 of Britain's lowest-paid workers will gain from these changes. They are appropriate - reflecting the current economic uncertainty while at the same time protecting the UK's lowest-paid workers. I would like to thank the LPC for doing a good job in difficult circumstances.

The BBC's Robert Peston comments via Twitter:

Today's announced increase in the minimum wage of 2.5% to 608p is considerably less than current rate of inflation.

Previous updates:

• National minimum wage: What are the new rates for 2010/2011? Visit XpertHR's new Pay Intelligence blog for further details of the 2010/2011 national minimum wage rates.
• National minim wage: Take part in the XpertHR benchmarking survey

• National minimum wage 2011/2012: Freeze or cut rates for younger workers, says BCC
  

A report out today from the Audit Commission (PDF format 1.15Mb, external website) looks at ways to reform the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).

It's quite a technical report on the funding issues, but worth a look as a preview of the issues that are likely to appear in the interim report of John Hutton's Public Service Pensions Commission which is expected next month (final report by Budget 2011).

Pay awards in both the private and public sectors remain low despite high headline inflation, according to the latest research from IRS published exclusively on XpertHR (subscription required).

Our provisional analysis shows that pay awards were worth a median 1% in the three months to the end of July 2010 - four whole percentage points below the cost of living as measured by Retail Prices Index (RPI), which was 5% in June.

A report is out today (PDF format 762K, external website) from the Public Sector Pensions Commission, which was set up in 2009 by the Institute of Economic Affairs, the Institute of Directors and others. You can read the press release on their website here.

A round-up of links to news items on recent employment tribunal rulings, including: compensation for a Protestant teacher who was made redundant in Northern Ireland; a payout for a property lettings agent who claimed that her boss asked her to lie in court; and an unsuccessful unfair dismissal claim by a postal worker who took time off work to grieve after the death of her pet dog.

UPDATE: National minimum wage 2012/2013: What can we expect from the October 2012 national minimum wage increase? Given the current backdrop of ongoing economic uncertainty, subdued pay awards, rising unemployment and falling inflation, news of the annual increase to the national minimum wage for 2012/2013 (due to come into effect on Monday 1 October 2012) will be particularly closely watched. Here, we look at what might be expected from the national minimum wage increase for 2012/2013. This post will be kept updated as new information emerges on what we might expect from the national minimum wage in 2012/2013.

National minimum wage 2011/2012 increase to £6.08 per hour comes into effect The national minimum wage adult rate increases to £6.08 per hour for 2011/2012 with effect from 1 October 2011. This represents an increase of 2.5% on the 2010/2011 national minimum wage adult rate, which previously stood at £5.93 per hour (from 1 October 2010 to 30 September 2011).

The future of the national minimum wage: Two-year increases & removal of income tax burden in prospect? What might we expect from future annual increases to the national minimum wage? It is possible that we will see major change to the national minimum wage over the coming years. Potential changes include: the introduction of two-year national minimum wage increases; and an increase of the minimum income tax threshold to remove income tax obligations from workers on the national minimum wage.

Update (Sunday 8 May 2011): National minimum wage 2011/2012: How will the 2.5% increase to £6.08 for October 2011 stack up against inflation? With private sector pay expectations subdued, the 2011/2012 national minimum wage increase could prop up whole economy pay awards in the closing months of 2011. But how will it compare with inflation? It was announced on Thursday 7 April 2011 that the national minimum wage adult rate will increase to £6.08 per hour for 2011/2012, with effect from 1 October 2011. This represents an increase of 2.5% from the 2010/2011 national minimum wage adult rate, which currently stands at £5.93 per hour (from 1 October 2010 to 30 September 2011). The 2011/2012 national minimum wage adult rate (at £6.08 per hour) is therefore set 15p per hour higher than the 2010/2011 rate. The BBC's Robert Peston commented via Twitter that the "announced increase in the [national] minimum wage of 2.5% to 608p is considerably less than current rate of inflation."

Update (Thursday 7 April 2011) >> National minimum wage 2011/2012 announced:

The national minimum wage adult rate will increase to £6.08 per hour for 2011/2012, with effect from 1 October 2011. This represents an increase of 2.5% from the 2010/2011 national minimum wage adult rate, which currently stands at £5.93 per hour (from 1 October 2010 to 30 September 2011). The 2011/2012 national minimum wage adult rate (at £6.08 per hour) is therefore set 15p per hour higher than the 20102/011 rate.

According to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) the national minimum wage rates for 2011/2012 will be as follows:

The following rates will come into effect on 1 October 2011:

• The adult rate will increase by 15p to £6.08 an hour;
• The rate for 18-20 year olds will increase by 6p to £4.98 an hour;
• The rate for 16-17 year olds will increase by 4p to £3.68 an hour; and
• The rate for apprentices will increase by 10p to £2.60 an hour.
  

Business Secretary Vince Cable comments:

More than 890,000 of Britain's lowest-paid workers will gain from these changes. They are appropriate - reflecting the current economic uncertainty while at the same time protecting the UK's lowest-paid workers. I would like to thank the LPC for doing a good job in difficult circumstances.

The BBC's Robert Peston comments via Twitter:

Today's announced increase in the minimum wage of 2.5% to 608p is considerably less than current rate of inflation.

Previously:

The coalition Government has accepted the Low Pay Commission's (LPC) recommendations for the 2010/2011 national minimum wage increase, which is scheduled to come into effect on 1 October 2010.

Are we likely to see the headline whole-economy pay award fall back to the record low of zero over the coming months?

The headline whole-economy pay award shows no signs of budging from 1% (subscription required) over the three months to 31 May 2010, according to latest pay trends data from IRS for XpertHR. But the gap between pay and inflation remains wide, while pay freezes are still common.

Latest pay trends data from IRS for XpertHR suggest that a slowdown in public sector pay awards is getting underway (external website) in 2010.

The trailer has been launched for a new British film based on the true story of a group of female machinists in a Dagenham car plant who protested for equal pay in 1968.

Today the Government published a list of "most" senior civil servants paid more than £150,000 a year (Excel format 19.9K, on the Cabinet Office website), as part of a drive which it says is intended to improve transparency, increase accountability and deliver better value for money. The list gives an "annual pay rate" for each person which includes taxable benefits and allowances.

The precarious economic situation means that Chancellor George Osborne's emergency budget will be very closely watched when it is delivered later this month (on Tuesday 22 June 2010). But beyond the likely headline-grabbing measures relating to public spending cuts and other actions geared toward tackling the budget deficit and shoring up economic recovery, there will be a host of other interesting aspects to the emergency budget. Not least among which is the fact that this is the first time that a Conservative Chancellor has had the opportunity to determine policy on the national minimum wage since its introduction in 1999. So what might Osborne's emergency budget have in store for the national minimum wage?

The coalition government has now published its "programme for government" (PDF format, 475Kb on the Cabinet Office website) and Personnel Today has already pulled out the key implications for HR.

The document suggests that the coalition is happy to pick specific fights with some major public sector employee groups in seeking to cut spending.

Update: National minimum wage: What are the new rates for 2010/2011? and National minimum wage: Increases for 2010/2011 effective today Full details of the national minimum wage rates for 2010 and 2011, which came into effect from 1 October 2010.

Prime minister Gordon Brown has stated that if the Labour party wins the 2010 general election, the national minimum wage "will reach £7 [per hour] on reasonable assumptions by the end of the Parliament" (external website). This was part of Brown's speech to Citizens UK yesterday (Sunday 3 May 2010), in which he also reaffirmed Labour's manifesto commitment to ask government departments to "follow the lead of those who already pay the Living Wage" within their existing budgets (the London living wage is currently set at £7.60 per hour). But it is worth taking a closer look at these comments.

A round up of links to news items on recent employment tribunal rulings, including: a huge equal pay win for council workers in Birmingham; the unfair dismissal of a receptionist who allegedly made her boss look stupid on Facebook; and an employment tribunal victory for fixed-term university staff.

The latest election analysis from the Centre For Economic Performance covers bankers' bonuses (on the CEP website, PDF format 72Kb), as part of the series of that was launched a couple of weeks ago.

With pay freezes remaining an all-too-common feature of the reward landscape in 2010, benefits and allowances represent an excellent way for cash-strapped employers to differentiate their reward offerings. Taking part in our 2010 benefits and allowances benchmarking survey will provide you with the chance to see how your benefits and allowances package compares with those of your competitors.

In their 2010 general election manifesto (external website), the Liberal Democrats pledge to:

• Set a £400 pay rise cap for all public sector workers, initially for two years (presumably from 2011, as many 2010 pay awards have already been agreed?);
• Introduce fair pay audits to combat pay discrimination for all firms with over 100 employees (note that the policy is for fair pay audits, broader than gender pay audits);

In its 2010 general election manifesto (external website), the Conservative Party says that if elected, it would:

• Require national and local public bodies to publish the salaries and expenses of senior officials paid more than the lowest salary permissible in Pay Band 1 of the Senior Civil Service pay scale (this is currently £58,200 a year);
• Implement a public sector pay freeze for one year in 2011, excluding the one million lowest-paid workers;

Building on Michael Carty's post on the minimum wage, I've been looking at the major parties' manifesto promises on pay and pensions. There are a lot of them, so I'll cover Labour here and post separately on the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats.

As Duncan Brown writes on the Public Finance blog, a focus on driving down the cost of public sector pay and pensions was to be expected in the manifestos (external website). "What is much  more of a surprise is the way in which pay is, secondly, being used to reinforce a core theme in all the major parties' manifestos, which is fairness and transparency," he says.

The main political parties have now published their manifestos for the 2010 general election (which takes place in less than one month's time, on Thursday 6 May 2010). Here we round up their promises on the national minimum wage.

Update: National minimum wage: What are the new rates for 2010/2011? and National minimum wage: Increases for 2010/2011 effective today Full details of the national minimum wage rates for 2010 and 2011, which came into effect from 1 October 2010.

• A free copy of the 2010 benefits and allowances report published by IRS;

• Free access to last year's four benefits and allowances reports;
  

• Entry into a prize draw with a chance to win one of five £25 M&S vouchers; and
  

• The special participant rate of £520 for access to detailed metrics across all key benefits and allowances, including breakdowns by seniority, locality, industry and more from XpertHR salary surveys, powered by CELRE (non participant price £1,040).

• Medical insurance;
• Permanent health insurance;
  
• Car allowances;
• Mileage rates;
  
• Subsistence allowances; and,
  
• Pensions.

A district mayor in Tokyo has become the first local government leader in Japan to take paternity leave, reports the BBC website.

What issues do line managers deal with on a daily basis? We’ve gathered data to come up with our 10 most popular line manager briefings since January 2009 (which might go some way to providing the answer).

Update: National minimum wage: What are the new rates for 2010/2011? and National minimum wage: Increases for 2010/2011 effective today Full details of the national minimum wage rates for 2010 and 2011, which came into effect from 1 October 2010.

The Labour party manifesto for the 2010 general election is likely to promise the possibility of a "radical increase" to the national minimum wage (external website), should the government remain in power, according to a report in today's Guardian. Although no timetable for the proposed increase is given, it would seem likely that it would be expected with the 2011/2012 national minimum wage uprating (due to come into effect on 1 October 2011).

With Budget 2010 just a few days away, there has been both good and bad news for the Chancellor this week.

On Wednesday, the labour market figures revealed a significant drop in unemployment and the claimant count, leading some experts to comment that unemployment may now have peaked (on the Independent website). The Centre for Economic and Social exclusion has put all the figures into easy-to-read charts on their website.

A round up of links to news items on recent employment tribunal rulings, including: an unsuccessful age discrimination claim by a TV journalist; the first decision on trade union blacklisting; and an award for a chip shop worker who was dismissed for giving away chips.

Whether you are an employer, employee or doctor, now is a good time to get familiar with the layout of the new fit note, which replaces the traditional sick note from 6 April 2010. A new entry on the statement of fitness for work [subscription required] in the XpertHR policies and documents section brings together the Government's sample version, official guidance for employers and doctors, and an overview of the law relating to the new fit note.

Despite the public sector pay freezes announced yesterday (see the coverage in the Guardian, Telegraph and Financial Times, plus the reactions from the First Division Association and the British Medical Association, all on external websites) many public sector employees will still be getting a pay rise in 2010.

UPDATE: National minimum wage 2012/2013: What can we expect from the October 2012 national minimum wage increase? Given the current backdrop of ongoing economic uncertainty, subdued pay awards, rising unemployment and falling inflation, news of the annual increase to the national minimum wage for 2012/2013 (due to come into effect on Monday 1 October 2012) will be particularly closely watched. Here, we look at what might be expected from the national minimum wage increase for 2012/2013. This post will be kept updated as new information emerges on what we might expect from the national minimum wage in 2012/2013.

National minimum wage 2011/2012 increase to £6.08 per hour comes into effect The national minimum wage adult rate increases to £6.08 per hour for 2011/2012 with effect from 1 October 2011. This represents an increase of 2.5% on the 2010/2011 national minimum wage adult rate, which previously stood at £5.93 per hour (from 1 October 2010 to 30 September 2011).

The future of the national minimum wage: Two-year increases & removal of income tax burden in prospect? What might we expect from future annual increases to the national minimum wage? It is possible that we will see major change to the national minimum wage over the coming years. Potential changes include: the introduction of two-year national minimum wage increases; and an increase of the minimum income tax threshold to remove income tax obligations from workers on the national minimum wage.

Update (Sunday 8 May 2011): National minimum wage 2011/2012: How will the 2.5% increase to £6.08 for October 2011 stack up against inflation? With private sector pay expectations subdued, the 2011/2012 national minimum wage increase could prop up whole economy pay awards in the closing months of 2011. But how will it compare with inflation? It was announced on Thursday 7 April 2011 that the national minimum wage adult rate will increase to £6.08 per hour for 2011/2012, with effect from 1 October 2011. This represents an increase of 2.5% from the 2010/2011 national minimum wage adult rate, which currently stands at £5.93 per hour (from 1 October 2010 to 30 September 2011). The 2011/2012 national minimum wage adult rate (at £6.08 per hour) is therefore set 15p per hour higher than the 2010/2011 rate. The BBC's Robert Peston commented via Twitter that the "announced increase in the [national] minimum wage of 2.5% to 608p is considerably less than current rate of inflation."

Update (Thursday 7 April 2011) >> National minimum wage 2011/2012 announced:

The national minimum wage adult rate will increase to £6.08 per hour for 2011/2012, with effect from 1 October 2011. This represents an increase of 2.5% from the 2010/2011 national minimum wage adult rate, which currently stands at £5.93 per hour (from 1 October 2010 to 30 September 2011). The 2011/2012 national minimum wage adult rate (at £6.08 per hour) is therefore set 15p per hour higher than the 20102/011 rate.

According to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) the national minimum wage rates for 2011/2012 will be as follows:

The following rates will come into effect on 1 October 2011:

• The adult rate will increase by 15p to £6.08 an hour;
• The rate for 18-20 year olds will increase by 6p to £4.98 an hour;
• The rate for 16-17 year olds will increase by 4p to £3.68 an hour; and
• The rate for apprentices will increase by 10p to £2.60 an hour.
  

Business Secretary Vince Cable comments:

More than 890,000 of Britain's lowest-paid workers will gain from these changes. They are appropriate - reflecting the current economic uncertainty while at the same time protecting the UK's lowest-paid workers. I would like to thank the LPC for doing a good job in difficult circumstances.

The BBC's Robert Peston comments via Twitter:

Today's announced increase in the minimum wage of 2.5% to 608p is considerably less than current rate of inflation.

Previous updates:

National minimum wage 2011/2012: Freeze or cut rates for younger workers, says BCC

2011 Budget: Can we expect an announcement on the national minimum wage 2011/2012? Can we expect the national minimum wage rate for 2011/2012 (which will come into effect from 1 October 2011) to be announced in the 2011 Budget speech, which Chancellor George Osborne is set to deliver on Wednesday 23 March 2011? The national minimum wage 2011/2012 announcement will be highly anticipated, as this will represent the first time that the level of the national minimum wage will have been set under a Conservative Chancellor since the introduction of the national minimum wage in 1999.

A policy on enforcement, prosecutions and naming employers who flout national minimum wage law (PDF format, 108.2K) came into effect on 1 January 2011.

The Government has announced the national minimum wage rate for 2010/2011 (external website). With effect from 1 October 2010, the national minimum wage adult rate will rise from its current level of £5.80 per hour to £5.93 per hour, an increase of 2.2%. As previously announced, the adult rate of the national minimum wage will be extended to 21 year-old workers from October 2010 (subscription required) (it is currently paid to workers aged 22 and over).

As well as announcing the date of the 2010 Budget, the Prime Minister also made some announcements on public sector pay this morning.

In his speech on the economy, he confirmed that there would be no pay rises for senior civil servants, the senior military, the judiciary, senior NHS managers, consultants, GPs or dentists from April 2010.

All these groups have their pay rates recommended by public sector review bodies, which published reports today setting out their proposals. Reports on pay in the prison service and armed forces have also been published.

You can find a statement confirming which proposals the government has accepted or rejected on the Number 10 website.

As the Prime Minister had already pre-announced that these groups were going to have their pay frozen (see our round-up of public sector pay on XpertHR - subscription required), it was quite brave of the senior salaries review body to recommend that senior NHS managers earning less than £80,000 should get a 2.25% pay rise, which the government rejected. 

The Prime Minister also confirmed that government ministers would not be seeing ministerial pay rise in 2010-11 nor would they be taking up the 1.5% pay increase for all MPs from April 2010 that was announced last week.

On 6 April 2010, the new statement of fitness for work, or "fit note" comes into effect. Doctors will be able to advise that an employee "may be fit for work taking account of the following advice" and suggest arrangements that could help the employee return to work. The fit note is intended to give employers and employees greater flexibility in managing sickness absence and result in fewer employees being signed off work when they could do some work with appropriate support.

The willingness of UK workers to accept severe pay restraint - in many cases involving pay freezes - has helped many employers minimise job cuts and weather the worst of the 2008/2009 recession. However, with tentative economic recovery now underway and inflation soaring, it remains to be seen if UK workers and trade unions will tolerate a second successive year of pay restraint.

XpertHR's salary survey unit will shortly be sending participation packs for the Computer Staff Salary Survey to organisations which have previously taken part in this long-running research.

Find out more about participating in the Computer Staff Salary Survey or call us on 020 8652 2159.

Pay freezes look as if they're here to stay in 2010. Around three-fifths (57%) of UK workers do not expect to receive a pay increase in 2010 (external website), according to a YouGov survey commissioned by uSwitch, the BBC reports.

• UPDATE: National minimum wage 2010/2011: 2.2% increase to £5.93 per hour announced for October 2010

The National Management Salary Survey is one of the largest pay surveys conducted by XpertHR through its Celre salary survey arm. The 2010 report is being launched today jointly with the Chartered Management Institute.

There is more about the headline findings in our Celre blog, and my colleague Michael Carty has also written about it. Data will also be found in the XpertHR Job Pricing tool in due course once further checking and number crunching has been carried out. This will be live very soon now.

As well as a collapse in the headline pay award back to the record low of zero, latest data from reward specialists at IRS suggest a change in the way the national minimum wage influences the headline pay settlement.

Reward has taken something of a beating during the recession, with pay freezes becoming the norm for many UK workers during 2009. But there could be a further, hidden casualty among our most valued workplace perks, with potentially serious implications for morale: the free office cuppa.

The prognosis for pay awards across the UK economy in 2010 and beyond is less than rosy (PDF format, 47K) (external website), according to Bank of England governor Mervyn King.

Supporting women who are due to go on maternity leave, and those who are returning from maternity leave, can help employers retain experienced and dedicated employees and ensure that they are working to their full potential. There can be a number of significant benefits to business, including saving on recruitment and training costs and ensuring productivity levels are at their peak. However, knowing what practical support to give pregnant women or new mothers can be difficult. That’s why at XpertHR we’ve commissioned a good practice guide on maternity from Liz Morris of Mayfield Associates.

Many public sector workers already face low pay increases or pay freezes in 2010. Now, in an interview with the Sunday Times, Chancellor Alistair Darling has indicated that public sector pay will be subject to "restructuring" (external website), which could result in pay cuts for some jobs.

Pay awards staged a slight recovery in the closing months of 2009 (subscription required), with the headline award standing at 1.2% over the three months to 31 December 2009, according to latest data from reward specialists at IRS. But the pay outlook is uncertain: pay awards could either stage a further weak recovery in 2010, or slump back toward their recent all-time low of zero.

"[W]hile the government is rightly devoting taxpayers' money to helping Britain's one million jobless young people, it would be absurd at the same time to raise the youth minimum wage," according to CIPD chief economic advisor John Philpott. His comments coincide with the publication of a joint letter to Peter Mandelson - penned by the CIPD in partnership with the BCC (external website) - in which they call for a freeze on "further statutory increases in the cost of employing staff during what looks like being a 'jobs-light' recovery".

• UPDATE: National minimum wage 2010/2011: 2.2% increase to £5.93 per hour announced for October 2010

Retail prices index (RPI) inflation is long established as a key factor influencing private sector pay awards. But with pay awards subdued at present, and inflation set to prove volatile over the coming months, could 2010 prove to be the year in which RPI and pay awards come uncoupled?

Do you need to know about employment law in France? The latest European employment law guide added to XpertHR looks at key elements of employment law in Frances as it applies to: recruitment and selection; pay and benefits; employee rights; contracts of employment; training and development; equal opportunities; industrial relations; health and safety; and termination of employment.

XpertHR regularly publishes information on industrial relations law and practice across Europe - providing expert analysis of developments at European level and in individual European countries. In addition, other guides to national employment law in European countries include: the Netherlands; Italy; Germany; Greece; Poland; and Ireland. For ease of reference, we’ve rounded our European information up on one European employment law and practice page.

Remember that we want to provide information on the countries that are relevant to you in your HR role - so let us know which countries you’d like to see guidance on in the future.

Snow chaos across the UK means many employees can't get to work, through no fault of their own, because travel is not possible and/or schools are closed. Many believe they are entitled to be paid as usual in these circumstances - and are unhappy when they find otherwise.

A blog post of mine on snow, pay and employment rights from last February has seen a flurry of comments in the past few days, so I thought it would be worth returning to the issue today.

A round up of links to recent employment tribunal rulings, including the reinstatement of a Territorial army soldier who was made redundant after he returned from Afghanistan, a successful claim by a park ranger who was dismissed for making a joke about the colour of a black colleague's legs, and an award to a woman whose husband did the same job for the same employer but was paid more than her.