The case of HMRC v Ant Marketing has highlighted that, when calculating whether the NMW has been paid, deductions for the cost of training is classed as expenditure “in connection with employment” and as such it may be treated as “reductions”. Accordingly, if training costs are deducted and this takes an employee below the NMW, the employer will be in breach.
This will be the case even where the deductions are contingent on the event of an employee leaving within a certain time period, or only represent a proportion of the training costs incurred by the employer. Where training is mandatory, the expenditure is much more likely to be regarded as “in connection with employment”. However, deductions for non-mandatory training may also be treated as a reduction, depending on the circumstances.
If an employer has not been paid NMW, they can enforce their entitlement by making a claim for breach of contract or for unlawful deduction from wages. HMRC can enforce this by issuing a Notice of Underpayment, and/or the employer may be guilty of a criminal offence if it has refused or wilfully neglected to pay the employee their entitlement. Accordingly, where employees are paid NMW (or close to it) employers must bear in mind the consequences of any deductions from those wages.
For more information on any of the items discussed in this article please contact either Nick Hall or a member of the Employment Team.
Connecting the internationally recognised academic and research powerhouses of Cambridge and Oxford by way of new infrastructure links across the region and ramping up digital connectivity between individuals, organisations and businesses occupying the zone is all part of the ambition.
Following the recent case of WH Smith and Commerz Real Investmentgesellshaft MBH (see here), it seemed that courts would impose pandemic rent suspension clauses more readily. However, this was not the case in Poundland Limited v Toplain Ltd (“Poundland"),
Many construction workers are now Covid 19 test and trace self-isolating, adding to the existing pressures within the building sector arising from the turbulence in the supply of building materials and labour.
On 12 May 2021, the government introduced the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill into the House of Lords. The Bill was announced in the Queens Speech. This is the government’s response to the concerns which have been raised about the future level of some ground rents and how they are calculated.
