New National Minimum Wage Rates
The National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Regulations 2025 came into force on 1 April and provided for the following changes to the National Living Wage (NLW) and the National Minimum…
Apr 01, 2025

The National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Regulations 2025 came into force on 1 April and provided for the following changes to the National Living Wage (NLW) and the National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates:
- The NLW, which applies to those aged 21 and over, will increase from £11.44 to £12.21 per hour;
- The NMW for 18- to 20-year-olds will increase from £8.60 to £10.00 per hour;
- The NMW for 16- and 17-year-olds will increase from £6.40 to £7.55 per hour; and
- The apprentice rate of the NMW, which applies to apprentices aged under 19 or those aged 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship, will increase from £6.40 to £7.55 per hour.
The accommodation offset will increase from £9.99 to £10.66 per day for each day during the pay period that accommodation is provided.


Was Restaurant Chef’s COVID-19 Redundancy Inevitable? Guideline Ruling
When employees are unfairly dismissed, it is commonplace for employers to assert that they would have lost their jobs in any event and that they have thus sustained no financial loss. As a case concerning a restaurant chef showed, however, such contentions are unlikely to be accepted in the absence of solid evidence.
The chef was the most junior member of the restaurant’s 10-strong kitchen team of non-speciality chefs. Following a downturn in business arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, he was…

Pregnancy Discrimination – Sacked Bar Manager Receives Compensation
Employers who dismiss personnel or otherwise treat them unfavourably for reasons related to pregnancy, childbirth or maternity can expect severe financial and reputational consequences. That was certainly so in the case of a loyal and committed bar manager who was pregnant when she was sacked without notice.
Her employer asserted that she was dismissed for misconduct. However, an Employment Tribunal (ET) concluded that her pregnancy, and her absences from work related to her condition, were a…

There’s a Big Difference Between Assertive Management and Bullying
There is all the difference in the world between an assertive management style and one that descends into aggressive bullying. As an Employment Tribunal (ET) ruling showed, employers who fail to take effective steps to stamp out the latter behaviour expose themselves to severe reputational and financial consequences.
The case focused on the stormy relationship between a charity employee and her line manager. Matters came to a head at a meeting when the line manager was seen to become…