Employment (Minimum Wage) (Amendment) (Jersey) Order 2007.

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A decision made (30/11/2007) regarding: Employment (Minimum Wage) (Amendment) (Jersey) Order 2007.

Decision Reference: MD-S-2007-0082
Decision Summary Title :	L:\General Information\Workgroups\Policy\Employment\Ministerial decisions\DS 2008 MW Order 22Nov07		Date of Decision Summary:	22/11/2007
Decision Summary Author:	Kate Morel, Policy Principal		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt?	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	N/A
Written Report Title :	L:\General Information\Workgroups\Policy\Employment\ \Ministerial decisions\ SD MW Order 22Nov07		Date of Written Report:	22/11/2007
Written Report Author:	Kate Morel, Policy Principal		Written Report : Public or Exempt?	Public
Subject: Employment (Minimum Wage) (Amendment) (Jersey) Order 200-
Decision(s): The Minister made the Employment (Minimum Wage) (Amendment) (Jersey) Order 2007.
Reason(s) for Decision: The Minister had approved the Employment Forum’s recommendation for new minimum wage rates to apply from 1 April 2008. The Order increases the Minimum Wage to £5.80 and the Trainee rate to £4.35 to coincide with equivalent increases in the maximum offsets that may be made against the minimum wage, proposed in the Draft Employment (Minimum Wage) (Amendment No. 4) (Jersey) Regulations 200-. The Order will also amend the record keeping requirements of employers.
Resource Implications: There are no financial or manpower implications.
Action required: Notify the Greffe and the Draftsman that the Order has been made and forward the signed and sealed Order to the Greffe for archiving.
Signature:		Position:
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Employment (Minimum Wage) (Amendment) (Jersey) Order 2007.

Accompanying report for the Employment (Minimum Wage) (Amendment) (Jersey) Order 200-

Introduction

The independent consultation body, the Employment Forum, recommended new minimum wage rates to apply from 1 April 2008, which the Social Security Minister accepted.

The Minister proposes to make an Order under Article 16(3) of the Employment (Jersey) Law, 2003, to make the following amendments, effective from 1 April 2008;

An hourly minimum wage of £5.80 to apply to all employees over school leaving age, except when the trainee rate is paid, and ‘special classes of person’, as detailed in articles 36 to 43 of the Employment (Jersey) Law 2003.

An hourly trainee rate of £4.35 for an employee of any age who is undertaking an accredited course of training for a maximum period of one year, when in a new job, with a new employer, by written agreement.

Record Keeping Requirements

The previous Minimum Wage Order which came into force on 1 April 2007 included an additional provision regarding the record keeping requirements of employers, requiring records to include the actual number of hours worked by every employee during each pay reference period, not only their contractual hours.

The intention was to clarify for employers that a copy of an employee’s contract will not be sufficient to prove that the correct wage has been paid where an employees’ actual and contractual hours differ.

The Minister considers that the effect of that amendment is wider than intended. It was the intention that the onus must be on the employer to ensure that more detailed records are kept for employees for whom payment of the minimum wage may be called into question, than they would for higher earning employees whose existing pay and time records are likely to be sufficient.

The UK and Isle of Man require only that employers’ records must be “sufficient” to establish that the minimum wage has been paid, with additional detail regarding what may constitute “sufficient” records included in guidance.

This amendment therefore reverts to the previous position regarding record keeping requirements and detailed guidance will be provided in the Jersey Advisory and Conciliation Service guide to the minimum wage.

There are no financial or manpower implications arising from this proposition.