The Fair Work Agency has named and shamed 658 employers, including B&Q, Five Guys and some NHS trusts, for national minimum wage (NMW) underpayments. More than £4.2 million has been returned to more than 27,600 workers who had been denied the pay they were legally owed, with penalties totalling £7 million issued to the employers responsible.
Umbrella company tax reforms have now come into force, introducing what recruiters and compliance specialists have described as the most significant shake-up to the temporary labour market since the private sector IR35 reforms were introduced in 2021.
The rates of the national minimum wage and national living wage increase from today (1 April 2026) as the Low Pay Commission publishes its first estimate of the wage floor for 2027-28.
People continuing to work past state pension age contribute more than £60bn to the UK economy each year, equivalent to four times the projected annual cost of implementing the pensions 'triple lock', an analysis has argued.
Tax thresholds will remain frozen and pension salary sacrifice will no longer be exempt from National Insurance, the Chancellor has confirmed in today's Budget.
Some of the government's impact assessments of the Employment Rights Bill were 'not fit for purpose' and the policies could lead to lower wages and fewer jobs, according to a statement published by the Regulatory Policy Committee.
Annual wage growth continued to fall in the three months to September, but not as fast as was expected, according to official labour market statistics.