The Government has announced new National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates that will apply from 1st October 2009.

For workers aged 22 years and over, the rate will increase from £5.73 to £5.80 an hour. The rate for 18 to 21 year olds will rise from £4.77 to £4.83 and for 16 and 17 year olds the rate will increase from £3.53 an hour to £3.57.

The accomodation offset will rise from £4.46 per day to £4.51 from 1st October 2009.

Normally, the Low Pay Commission (LPC) publishes its recommendations for annual changes to the NMW rates at the end of February each year, however, this is the first time that the rates have been determined in a recession and the LPC requested an extension to this deadline in order to have access to two months' additional economic data.

In addition to the rate changes, the Government has accepted an LPC recommendation that the adult rate of the NMW should be extended to 21 year olds. This will be implemented from October 2010.

The LPC has also recommended that information should be publicly available on employers who have shown a wilful disregard for NMW legislation. The Government has committed itself to developing proposals to acheive this, taking into account the practical issues involved.

The Government will also consider the LPC's recommendation that a minimum wage be introduced for apprentices and will respond in full to this proposal when it sets the LPC's remit for 2010.

The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform has already announced the the NMW Regulations are to be changed so that tips and service charges can no longer be used to make up staff salaries to the minimum legal level. This change will take effect in October 2009.