The 1999 Regulations set out detailed rules for determining whether a worker is paid the national minimum wage. They make provision for the national minimum wage rates, exemptions, what payments count towards minimum wage pay, how to determine what hours have been worked for minimum wage purposes, and what minimum wage records need to be kept. The 1999 Regulations have been amended over twenty times since they came into force including a number of substantial changes.
As part of the Red Tape Challenge, the Government decided in 2014 that the 1999 Regulations and subsequent amending regulations should be consolidated in order to make the detailed rules clearer and more workable for employers and employees. The Government also took the opportunity to update the drafting to reflect current drafting practices and to try and ensure that the rules are set out as clearly as possible. This included changes to the drafting to reflect current drafting practice (such as making the provisions gender neutral) and to the structure so that the rules are clearer and more intuitive (such as the use of shorter and more focused provisions).
