National Minimum Wage: The only way is up
Published: 05:43PM BST 22 Mar 2010
From October 2009:
- the adult rate for workers aged 22 and over will rise from £5.73 to £5.80 an hour
- for workers aged 18 to 21 it will rise from £4.77 to £4.83 an hour
- for workers aged 16 to 17 it will rise from £3.53 to £3.57 an hour
As well as the rate changes to take effect this year, the Government has accepted an LPC recommendation that the adult rate of the minimum wage should be extended to 21-year-olds from October 2010.
In addition, the LPC recommend that a minimum wage for apprentices should be introduced. The Government will consider this, and respond to the proposal this summer, when it sets the LPCs remit for its 2010 report.
The deadline for submission of the LPCs recommendations to government was extended from February to May to allow Commissioners to take into account the latest possible economic evidence.
The LPC chairman acknowledged that these were unprecedented economic circumstances, and stressed the need to protect low-paid workers' jobs, as well as their earnings.
