minimum wage for an apprentice

[jaspercarrot]

my daughter is an apprentice hairdresser and has almost completed nvq level 2, she has been paid £60 a week for a year which is barely covering travel costs etc, will she be entitled to minimum wage once she has completed nvq in july?
, she is 18. thanks

[boxtops]

Is she employed by the hairdresser, or is she on the apprenticeship scheme for her NVQ? That could make quite a difference as employers are only paid a certain amount by the Government to pay the student - it may have changed recently but I believe it's £80 p.w. per person which has to cover employer costs as well as the salary.

[jaspercarrot]

she emloyed by hardresser and she goes college one day week, i have read on minimum pay websites that apprentices should get £95 a week minimum, can anyone who is an apprentice in a similar situation adise what pay my daughter should be recieving? will she be entitled to minimum wage when nvq level 2 is completed ? thanks

[buildersmate]

I don't know whose website you've been trawling. I use Direct Gov for the best and accurate info on this kind of stuff - and it doesn't confirm what you've read.
http://www.direct.gov...MinimumWage/DG_175114
From further down that webpage it says:
"If you are an apprentice under the age of 19 you are not entitled to the NMW. If you are an apprentice aged 19 and over and you are still in the first year of your apprenticeship you are also not entitled to the NMW".
So there you go. But the better place to confirm even my answer would be to ring the Pay and Work Rights Helpline on 0800 917 2368.

[jaspercarrot]

thanks buildersmate, i have looked on this website you have posted also, it sates on there under MONEY AND HOLIDAYS that " you,ll get a weekly wage of at least £95 a week (unless you work in agriculture) "
well my daughter has only been paid £60 a week for this year.
i will try to find the website where it stated that once you have competed a year apprentiship and completed level 2 nvq you are entitled to minimum wage.

[jaspercarrot]

i have found this in citizens advise website
Apprentices
Apprentices do not qualify for the national minimum wage if they:

•are aged 18 or under, or
•are aged 19 or over and are in the first year of their apprenticeship.
However, these apprentices are entitled to earn an amount of no less than £95 a week. This does not apply if you live in Northern Ireland.

Once you have worked as an apprentice for a year, if you have reached the age of 19 and are still working for the same employer, you will be entitled to the normal minimum wage for your age

my daughter will have completed level two nvq in july, also one year apprentiship will be completed. so i thought it reads that she would be entitled to minimum wage then, besides that she should have been having £95 a week not £60 that she has been getting for a year.
are there any apprentices or parents of apprentices with first hand knowledge who can give any info on this please?
thankyou

[buildersmate]

OK, I put my hand up to an error, as it looks like you've now cracked the mystery. I failed to locate the bit about the minimum of £95 - only the bit about not getting NMW. So the £60 she's been getting has to be wrong.

However you say she is still 18. It's when she gets to 19 (and because by then she will have completed > 1 year of the appreenticeship) she will be entitled to NMW is my reading of it.

[jaspercarrot]

buildersmate, i think she should have been having £95 instead of £60 but i dont know who to contact to try to reclaim what she was entitled to (preferably by email because i cant phone from work long hours etc).
she done year in college then second year she had apprentiship which will be completed this month, she be entering her third year nvq in september, other apprentices working for different employers doing same are earning min wage at age 16 and 17, the website i had extract from is a not quite conclusive it seems to mean that if you are 18 and have completed a year apprentiship you are then entitled to minimum wage, if you turn 19 you wont get min wage till you completed 1 year apprentiship, its a bit confusing, sorry to keep goin on about it but its quite important to my daughter because if she enters into 3rd year college and have completed level 2 nvq she needs to know by september if she entitled to more pay min wage otherwise she will have to give it up and look for another employer or change job.
thanks

[buildersmate]

The way to confirm that you are right about the rate is via the Works Rights Helpline on the 0800 number above.
The way to seek redress is also through the same phone line, but you can also do it here via this online form.
https://payandworkrig...ct.gov.uk/complaints/
I would be wary - whilst she would very likely win the claim, she needs to think about what would happen if the employing hairdresser decided not to continue with the apprenticeship when it finds out it has to fund it at £95 per week.
Maybe the Helpline can advise whether a retrospective claim after the end of the apprenticeship is possible.