How Does A Leap Year Impact National Minimum Wage?

This is a leap year and, with 29 February falling on a Thursday, employers need to watch out for a possible breach of national minimum wage requirements.

When we think about leap years, we often think of the tradition of women proposing marriage to men on 29 February. This tradition apparently comes from the idea that, historically, 29 February was not a legally recognised day and so women were freed from convention and legal restrictions. Times have changed, of course, and 29 February is now very much a legally recognised day. This year, it falls on a Thursday so, for many of us, it's an additional day of work.

This means that, if you have workers paid at (or around) the National Minimum Wage, you need to be sure that the extra day of work doesn't result in pay falling below the legal minimums (currently £10.42 per hour for workers aged 23 and over).