There has long been a misunderstanding about the provisions of accommodation and livery for the employees of equestrian businesses, with many yards offering livery, training, and/ or accommodation in lieu of a portion of wages. With the increases in minimum wages, many employers see this as a good way to counteract financial payment but unfortunately, this is not as simple as it seems!
The Equestrian Employers Association (EEA) has recently been focusing on this as part of their support and guidance around the increases of wages for employers.
“Accommodation offset explained:
If you offer accommodation to staff it is important to understand the accommodation offset rules and how this affects the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW)
- There is a maximum amount that you can deduct/charge for accommodation if your employee is on the NMW or NLW.
- As of 1st April, the daily accommodation offset rate will rise to £8.70 (£60.90 per week).
- The accommodation offset amount is deducted from your employee’s gross pay.
It makes no difference to the amount whether:
- The rent is taken out of the employee’s wages
- The employee pays rent after receiving their wages
- The accommodation is received as part of a package
Bills count as part of the overall accommodation charges, but the total amount that can be deducted for both accommodation and bills cannot exceed the maximum amount of the offset rate.
If the accommodation is free, it still affects the NMW or NLW.”
Full details and example calculations can be found here: https://bit.ly/EEA-accommodation