There’s just no hiding from HMRC when it comes to meeting your obligations as an employer and paying the right hourly rate.  An Employment Tribunal recently ruled that employees were entitled to a higher rate of National Minimum Wage after two telecommunication companies claimed that the workers were apprentices. 

Between them, the companies were ordered to pay wage arrears of almost £100,000 to 197 call centre workers and they received a penalty of £5,000 each to boot. 

The lesson here is that it really doesn’t matter what you call the working arrangement.  You can call your employees apprentices, get them to agree to it and pay them an apprenticeship rate but if you can’t prove that they really are apprentices, HMRC will not just take your word for it and you will be expected to pay up.

One of the most frequently asked questions recently is what is RTI and what does it mean to the average employer?  This guest post explains more.

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What is RTI?

I think it’s wonderful that so many HR consultancies and legal firms send out regular newsletters about employment law updates.  It’s great that they keep in touch with their clients, their prospective clients and everyone who’s shown an interest.  What’s not so great is the lack of relevant content. 

I’m generalising here of course but sadly, it’s quite rare to see an employment law update that immediately tells the reader why it’s relevant.  I don’t see why it’s necessary to send out updates that may or may not matter to the reader.  If it doesn’t matter, why send it?  If it does matter, why don’t they explain why it does and what the reader needs to do about it as a result?