Salary Sacrifice Pension down to NMW

I wonder if anyone knows this (pretty sure the idea is correct) The PAYE details needed entered into basic tools are the (National Minimum Wage) NMW figure right not the amounts before the salary sacrifice, which go to pension company without company NI or Employee deductions? These are already considered gross too so will not attract Tax relief again. Any difference between a director (shareholder) and an employee though? Regards, 

Name removed admin 

Hi rdab100,
If there is a Salary Sacrifce in place, the amount that goes through payroll is the amount after you have deducted the Salary Sacrifice and for employees any amount sacrificed should not take their gross pay below the NMW.
For directors there may be different rules on NMW - please see the following:
NMWM05140 - Entitlement to National Minimum Wage: directors and office holders
If you have any further queries on the NMW please call 03001231100.
Thank you. 

Tnx.

Hello, my son is considering using salary sacrifice to boost his pension. I would like to clarify the relationship between salary sacrifice and the NMW. In the reply above it says that, after salary sacrifice, the employee's GROSS Pay should not fall below the NMW. However, in another HMRC document it states “A salary sacrifice arrangement must not reduce an employee's cash earnings below the National Minimum Wage” The reference to "cash earnings" seems to imply that it is the NET pay which must still be above the NMW? Could you please clarify this for me? John

Hi,
National Minimum Wage (NMW) does not recognise a difference between gross pay and net pay, and any deduction from pay, outside of a very specific list of exceptions, is likely to reduce a worker’s pay for NMW purposes.
A salary sacrifice scheme will always reduce a worker's pay as the worker is in essence giving up a portion of their pay in exchange for something else, so it cannot be included in any minimum wage calculations. Any determination would depend on the full arrangements in place.
For more information, please refer to:
Salary sacrifice
Alternatively, please consider seeking independent advice, such as, by contacting the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS), or an independent legal advisor.
Thank you.