National Minimum Wage 2024

Posted by HRGO Recruitment on 05 Apr 2024

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Implications of the New National Minimum Wage 2024 for Organisations Employing Temporary Workers in the UK

Executive Summary

On the 1^st of February 2024, the government announced changes to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates, impacting directly how employers should approach compensation for temporary staff in the UK. We at HRGO Recruitment provide integrated recruitment solutions perfectly blending people, process, and technology to respond to the challenges presented by NMW. We wish to share with you some key considerations, potential challenges, and recommended strategies to ensure your businesses remain compliant and able to maintain positive employer-employee relations.

Overview

Whilst each of the age groups, including apprentices, will see a rise in the minimum wage rate, the most notable change is that, from April 1^st, 2024, workers aged 21 and over will now be entitled to the National Living Wage, set at £11.44.

Of course, the National Minimum Wage should rise to keep up with the rise in inflation, but what does this mean for temporary workers and those who employ them? Moreso, what information or assistance can HRGO Recruitment provide to help both employers and employees?

Compliance and Legal Obligations

The National Minimum Wage is just that: a minimum.

Businesses paying their workers less than minimum wage are subject to legal action, enforced by ACAS and HMRC.

Whilst a company can amend any issues internally, if HMRC discovers that an employer has not paid the minimum wage, action they can take against the employer includes:

• Issuing a notice to pay money owed, going back a maximum of six years.
• Issuing a fine of up to £20,000 and a minimum of £100 for each employee or worker affected, even if the underpayment is worth less.
• Legal action including criminal proceedings.
• Passing on the names of the offending businesses and employers to the Department for Business and Trade who may put them on a public list

How does this affect businesses with temporary workforce?

As National Minimum Wage increases, it becomes less affordable for businesses to have larger numbers of lower skilled temporary workers built into their resourcing model and this results in employers potentially seeking to have higher skilled workers in their organisation for not much of a cost differential. This is likely to mean that those candidates with a higher skills match are likely to be at a premium within the temporary worker market.

It is at this point that the emphasis falls upon, not just finding a resource for the role, but finding the right person. That is where HRGO Recruitment comes in.

How can HRGO Recruitment help?

Recruitment and retention

With HRGO Recruitment, there is already a pool of talent, ready and waiting, in a database of candidates that is constantly being reviewed and refreshed by our professional recruiters to guarantee we can efficiently match them to you and your vacancies. We also have a streamlined process enabled by our HRGO Recruitment candidate portal that ensures our recruiters can find the right quality candidates quickly. With the increase in NMW, it is all about quality not quantity, and we guarantee you get it.

Once the right candidate has been chosen, we can facilitate our clients onboarding process to provide candidates with a high quality, online onboarding experience, giving them the necessary preparation so that they can begin the role feeling confident and capable. With a strong onboarding experience, worker retention rates increase by at least 60%, optimising your workforce and ensuring that every penny spent on your contingent workers is worth it.

Effective Workforce Planning

Now, more than ever, businesses should be relying on the agility and scalability of an agency model. Through our client portal, your organisation has access to excellent data which allows you to plan your contingent workforce effectively, avoiding unnecessary overtime cost.

When the cost of labour is increasing, we need to know we are utilising that workforce in the most optimised way. Do that through our HRGO Recruitment portal, on which our clients can access real time data to inform the most effective approach to demand forecast planning, with the perspective of managing the total cost of your combined workforce and the ability to drill down into individual worker patterns.

Conclusion

This insight has provided a comprehensive overview of the implications of the new National Minimum Wage for organisations employing temporary workers in the UK. By understanding and proactively addressing these implications, employers can navigate the changes effectively, ensuring compliance, fostering positive employee relations, and maintain a competitive edge in the ever-evolving labour market.

For organisations to best protect themselves from the higher financial burden posed by NMW. It is essential to work with staffing agencies who can provide expert professional resourcing experts, suggesting best practice process improvements, delivering efficiencies in the hiring process through technology enabled automation.  At HRGO Recruitment we have an integrated recruitment service, enabled by our blend of People Process and Technology.

Speak with our team to see how our solutions can fit into your business model.