National Minimum Wage Regulations

Tuesday 22nd July 2014 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Jo Swinson)]

Today, I publish a consultation document and draft consolidated national minimum wage (NMW) regulations for public consultation.

The NMW regulations, which set out the detailed NMW rules, came into force on 1 April 1999. Since then, the NMW regulations have been amended over 20 times. As well as the annual changes to the NMW rates, there have been a number of substantial changes to the rules over the years.

As part of the red tape challenge, we concluded that the NMW regulations and subsequent amending regulations should be consolidated into a single set of regulations.

We have also taken the opportunity to update the drafting to reflect current drafting practice, such as making the provisions gender-neutral, and to try and ensure that the rules are set out as clearly and accessibly as possible.

This consultation seeks views on whether the draft consolidated regulations 2014 are clear and workable. It is not intended to reopen the policy decisions behind the detailed rules.

I am placing copies of the consultation document in the Libraries of both Houses.