New National Minimum Wage Rise UK

Great news for UK residents and workers. The government has effected the New Minimum Wages for UK from Today onwards. What this means is that the minimum amouont of money that can be earned b y an individual has gone up considerably. BBC News

For Adult workers, there is an increase in the national minimum wage from £5.52 to £5.73 per hour for adult workers. This has come into force.

For the other age groups also, there has been good raise. The hourly rate for 18 to 22-year-olds has also risen from £4.60 to £4.77, and for 16 and 17-year-olds, the new minimum wage would be increased from £3.40 to £3.53.

And that's not all - Governmetn has also given a strict order that it will penalize heavily those bosses who do not meet the requirement to pay the minimum national wages. However, the workers Union like Unite had requested for much higher rise in the minimum wages as the cost of living in UK has gone up substantially.

As per the news, Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced in March that the minimum wage would increase.
The rise comes shortly after the 10-year anniversary of the introduction of the minimum wage, which was first set at £3.60 an hour.
"The minimum wage has made a lasting and significant difference to the low paid, with around a million workers benefiting from the increase each year," said Employment Relations Minister Pat McFadden.
"It is vital that we safeguard this right with effective enforcement, which is why we're bringing in tough new penalties for those who flout the law."

The government is planning to introduce new regulations in April that will impose a £5,000 automatic fine on any employer failing to pay the minimum rate.
Serious cases could lead to a prosecution in a Crown Court where there is no limit to the fine that could be set.
Even a helpline was recently set up for people to report the mistreatment of workers and illegal pay rates.
"With rogue employers constantly seeking new ways to evade paying the minimum wage, the government must be vigilant in enforcing it," said Dave Prentis, general secretary of public sector union Unison.
"The rise to £5.73 is a welcome cushion, however, with the price of everyday essentials such as food, gas and electricity going up massively, it won't lift enough working people out of the poverty trap.
"A more realistic figure would be £6.75 an hour - a fair day's pay for a fair day's work, regardless of age."