Please note: The following feature is available as part of Birdie’s Starter, Core, Advanced and Plus packages (Also known as Care Management, Rostering & Finance, Premium, Entry and Essentials) Please get in touch if interested in more information on this feature!
Birdie provides you with the visibility you need to understand if there is a potential National Living Wage top-up needed, giving you to flexibility to adjust and record a top-up where necessary.
How to review and add National Living Wage top-ups
To see anyone who is at risk of being paid less than NLW, first go to the Finance tab in the Agency Hub and click Pay runs on the left-hand menu.
Then click on the individual pay run you would like to see.
Here, you’ll see the list of pay data for that particular pay run, including:
Name of Carer
Pay for Care Delivery
Pay for Travel
Pay for Waiting time
Pay for Mileage
Any Extras that have been recorded (i.e. recording an additional payment); and
Pay Total
You’ll also see a ‘Tags’ section which includes ‘Check NLW’ tags. You’ll see these tags next to anyone who is at risk of being paid less than NLW.
How to get more context around the ‘Check NLW’ tag
To get more context around why a particular Carer has the ‘Check NLW’ tag next to their name, simply hover over the question mark icon.
You’ll then see a pop-up with more information, including Current Pay, what that breaks out to for hourly pay, and what the minimum total pay would be for this Carer. Additionally, you’ll see the top-up amount needed.
The calculation takes contact time (visits), travel time and waiting time and the pay for both of these and figures out the average hourly rate. If this rate is less than the NLW, we display this tag with the popover to identify the potential need for a top-up.
Please note: per guidance, waiting time is still considered working time, so it needs to be factored into the NLW calculation. For further guidance, please see this webpage.
This will allow you to make informed decisions on how to handle top-ups, for instance:
If you have additional context, you can choose to ignore this warning.
Or if you want to add a top-up, we’ll provide you with the minimum pay needed and you then can record a payment top-up from there.
How to add a NLW top-up
If you want to add a NLW top-up, simply click on the paysheet for an individual Carer.
Within the paysheet, you can then click Record Payment on the Payments and deductions section.
Here, you’ll be able to add the NLW top-up by recording it as you would with any other additional payment.
You can give a name for this payment, such as a NLW top-up, and then enter the correct top-up amount. You can also add a description, such as the reason for recording the NLW top-up, and click Save.
Once you’ve recorded this NLW top-up, you’ll see this reflected in the Pay Run, under the ‘Extras’ column in the table.
NLW calculations and FAQ
How is the NLW calculated?
Our NLW equation compares Total hours worked with Total pay. We always define these as:
Total hours worked = care hours + travel hours + waiting hours
Total pay = care pay + travel pay + waiting pay
We also include commuting hours and commute pay where they are clearly called out as "included" in the travel rate card.
FAQ
Are waiting hours included in the NLW calculation?
Waiting hours are always included in the Total hours worked (as per the relevant entry in the HMRC NLW manual). Waiting pay is included in Total pay if the "pay for waiting time" box is ticked.
Are breaks included in the NLW calculation?
No, Breaks are always excluded (as per the relevant HMRC entry here).
Are commutes included in the NLW calculation?
Commuting hours and pay will be included when the travel rate card explicitly indicates they should (as per the relevant HMRC entry here).
Are historical NLW rates supported?
No, this feature does not support historical rates, meaning the new rates effective every April will be used to suggest top ups regardless of the date of the pay run. Please note: Pay runs for time frames prior to annual April rate changes may show the flag despite the carer having been paid the previously correct rate. To adjust past pay runs up to April, it is therefore advisable to manually calculate the top up required to reach the previous minimum wage.
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