The government has today confirmed new minimum wage rates – and told the Low Pay Commission to focus on prospects for young people and the competitiveness of small firms when it compiles its next report.
The new rates were recommended by the LPC in its 2010 report and will now come into effect on 1 October 2010. They will be:
- £5.93 per hour for low paid workers aged 21 and over (increased from £5.80)
- £4.92 per hour for 18-20 year olds (increased from £4.83)
- £3.64 per hour for 16-17 year olds (previously £3.57).
For the first time there will also be an apprentice minimum wage of £2.50 per hour.
The focus on employment prospects for younger workers and small businesses came when the government set the remit for the LPC’s 2011 report. As with previous years, the commission will also review the National Minimum Wage and its impact. It will report to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills by the end of February 2011. The NFU will make a submission.
NFU comment
'With agriculture and horticulture being a sector of small and medium enterprises the NFU welcomes this focus on the impact of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) on small firms. The NFU also welcomes the focus on the employment prospects of young people, including apprenticeships.
'A further point is that with the LPC recommending NMW rates to the government, it brings into question why there is still an Agricultural Wages Board setting the Agricultural Minimum Wage which must be the same as or higher than the NMW.'
No comments have been made.