The minimum wage for workers aged 16-18 is £4.55 (April 2020-21)
For workers, aged 18-20 is currently £6.45 (April 2020-21)
Readers Question: What are the minimum wage rates for 16, 17 and 18-year-olds. Should the minimum wage be increased? Should there be a minimum wage rate for children under 16?
Minimum Wage Rates from April 2020
- £8.72 – 25 and over
- £8.20 – Age 21-24
- £6.45 – Age 18-20
- £4.55 – Under 18
- £4.15 – Apprentice rate. (An apprentice means the firm has to devote a certain time to training the worker. Traditionally apprentices get lower pay to compensate the firms’ cost of training them.
Can 13, 14, and 15-year-olds get a minimum wage rate?
No, the minimum wage rate only applies to workers who are 16 and above.
The youngest age your child can work part-time is 13 years old, with the exception of children involved in: television, drama, film. [1. Child employment Direct gov]
Do young workers benefit from a national minimum wage?
Benefits of Min Wage
- A minimum wage is an effective tool for increasing wages of the lowest paid group of workers.
- Since the minimum wage has been introduced in 1997, unemployment has fallen, suggesting fears over real-wage unemployment have been misplaced.
- Minimum wages can increase labour productivity. Workers can feel more motivated with higher wages (efficiency wage theory). Also, if firms have to pay more, then they have an incentive to invest in workers and capital to increase labour productivity.
- In an era of low real wage growth, the minimum wage has played an increasing role in causing higher living standards.
Concerns over minimum wage
- An argument advanced is national minimum wage increases costs for firms and this can discourage employment opportunities. If the minimum wage rate rises too fast, it could cause unemployment in the future.
- The gap between workers under 18 and over 25 means that firms have a cost incentive to substitute older workers for younger workers. In labour intensive industries (e.g. fast food) firms may prefer to give longer hours to the youngest workers because they are nearly 50% cheaper than mature workers.
- Blackmarket. Another issue is that a legal minimum may encourage firms to pay young workers in cash and avoid legal restrictions.
- Regional inequality of wages. A national minimum wage can cause unemployment in the northeast (where wages are low) but have little effect in London, where wages are higher.
Does a minimum Wage encourage Labour market Participation?
- In theory, increasing the minimum wage for 16-18 year old workers would increase the incentive to join the labour market because work will become more attractive compared to studying at school and not earning.
- However, the minimum wage for 16 and 17 year-olds is still relatively low. It is £4.20 for people under 18. Therefore, the benefit of working on the minimum wage may still seem insignificant compared to the benefits from studying and getting qualifications which will enable higher lifetime earnings.
- Also, many 16 and 17 year-olds probably live rent free therefore there is not the same economic necessity to go out and get a job.
- Personally, I think the effect of a minimum wage for 16-18 year olds is relatively insignificant, I can’t think of many students who would give up A-levels just so that they could go and work in McDonald’s for £4.20 an hour.
- What is most likely is that there will be an increase in the participation of young workers doing part-time jobs in addition to studying full time.
Case for Increasing the Minimum Wage Rate
- Unfair firms can pay a lower wage rate to young workers doing the same job as people over 21.
- Efficiency Wage Theory – the idea if you pay a higher wage, you will get greater motivation and labour productivity.
Problems of Increasing the Minimum Wage Rate for young workers
- Could lead to unemployment and fewer job opportunities. Many firms may be unwilling to employ workers if there is a significant increase in the minimum wage rate. This would particularly affect labour-intensive industries like hairdressers and cafes.
- Arguably young workers lack experience, and so firms need to spend time and money on training them. Therefore a lower minimum wage rate is justified to pay for the costs of on-the-job training.
How Does the UK compare to other countries?
The UK minimum wage compares well compared to other countries like the US, Spain and Portugal, but still lower than some EU countries. International minimum wage rates
More on
Ive just turned 21, i work in a pub and i get £6.75 an hour. excellent wage. for all you underpaid people out there go to citezens advive and they will tell you what you should be getting.. never mind minimum wage. it also goes by the job you do. i was only on £4.90 an hour and my friend who had worked there a year longer than me was on 6.75 an hour & shes 21 also, so we should of got the same rate. i went to see citezens advice and they said they were going to get in contact with my boss and sort this out. i got a phone call from my boss 2 days later saying hes gave me a raise to £6.75. i know it wernt a raise but i was just happy i am not getting ripped off that im getting the same wage as everyone else
I am 16 and only get paid £3 an hour can I do anything about this?
as i am nearly 16 i think that people at the age of 15 should get some money as well
im 17 18 in 3 weks, when i was 16 i got a job in burtons menswear , i did 4 hours a week on the late night ( 3-7) and got 5.80 ph i was on 100 a month as i got national insuramce aswell i didnt enjoy it but the money was good until my college changed my days when they knew i worked on the days they changed it to! i had to leave my job and am now stuck with no job trying to find a flat as i got kicked out of home 6 months ago. i hate not working and am desperate to find a job so all you that are oaning about minimum wage i would be grateful for that tbh!!!
and also even though i have a qualification in level 2 beauty therapy i cant use it as there are no jobs in that area!! i now have a useless qualification that i left my job to achieve!!
hello…
I am arunkari. I am very poor person. I like to descrive u my grief . u have alot of money so, can u help me for some dollar to my improve life?
if u like to help me plz send me above address form mail. thanking u very much
I’m doing an apprenticeship and get £2.50 an hour and work 37.5 hours a week and I’m 16 is this right? should I be getting the minimum wage for my age category? could someone please give me some advice?
Thanks
Well im 17 and have just recently started working in Co-Op. I get £5.84 🙂
I think the minimum wage for 16 and 17 year olds should get raised, as £3.57 is no way near enough. I think im lucky to get what i do.
Meighan: ‘I am 16 and only get paid £3 an hour can I do anything about this?’
This is not fair. The minimum wage for a 16 and 17 year old is £3.57. So no matter where you work you should be earning at least this.
i am 20 years old and been working for 4 years, why should i get paied less for doing the same job as som1 who is older than me ???
kim knight,
i am only 15 i work in a video store in australia. i do on average 12 hours a week as well as my 9-3:15 schooling 5 days a week. I am left on my own for these hours, i do not work with anyone else. I lock up the store and put the alarm on, i close the store all by myself at only 15. The people i work with are all older than i am and allget paid more than myself. However we all do the same work and i can gurantee you i work harder than most of the girls i work with. No im not big noting myself. im trying to tell you that age or pay is not indicitive of how well you work and to what standards and infact your pay should be indicitve of this.
Its not a matter of respect your olders its a matter of recognising that the youth can do the same jobs if not better. It only takes a matter of time for people to be trained up and then they are as good if not better as the next employee.
Maybe you should think about that.
Well i get paid £100 a week and i work 40 hours.soo i get paid less then The minimum wadge so there is no point in having a min wage coz allot of da times its not followed.:@
You all get soo low i get lottt more and im 15 i get 7.25 and im about to be a server hahahaha
If you are 15 can you work at Home Bargains?
Hi, I agree with majority and say that this minimum wage is unfair. I mean we are all hard working. Why can’t we get the same as a “hard working” adult? I have a job atm giving me £4.50 ph, however I am only given one 4 hour shift each week. I get paid at the end of each month. I occasionally get a odd 2 hour shift. But still it is still not enough. And some of us are doing this paid work to pay for travel to college (eg for me my train pass gives me half price but for 7 days my train ticket is £15.25… that is one weeks worth of pay so leaves me with nothing for social aspects; cinema, meals out and days out. I am now currently looking for a evening job in restaurants or retail sales assistants. KIM, you say we are lucky but we aren’t yeah maybe in your day £3.53 was alot but now-a-days things cost alot more and teenagers need more money. Yeah i could probably survive just about but my mum and dad hate me borrowing money off them cause my older siblings never got pocket money or allowances so I don’t get them either (considering i am the 4th child of 7 children) I just think that it is very predeudice to young people because your technically saying we do not work as hard as “adults” do. But we do and some of us more so. I have had a job since I was 13 (paper round) then when I turned 15 I got my current job at a cattery which I love but just doesn’t give me enough for college travel and some foods and just general social life… In PE we learnt you need free time to have a healthy lifestyle… Well most free time activities cost so I have to work to make them happen. :/