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
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hello i am 15 years old and have a part time job in small shop i get paid 25 pounds for 8 hours work is this good?
i agree it seams low
but how many of you are living at home with parents, do not have responsibility of children or runnig a home
ok you may pay something towards board at home
but really… if you look at full rent/morgage council tax, maintance allowace if you have children who do not live at home with you, gas elec and water and then food, repairs of your home if you own the home, then compare it to what you have to pay out ( not take leisure stuff or take aways, cigs etc etc, these are not essential )
then say its unfair,
also for the person who is saying she works for £80 a week are you on a course getting your nvq etc this maybe more a a bonus for training at a work place more then a wage per hour or week
but this is far cheaper way of learning as its hands on and getting your grades, they paying you to learn instead of you paying to attend the collage and getting yourself into debt through student loans etc to learn,
i maybe dyslexic but it does not affect my daughters education, in fact she is advanced in her learning and will go far,
she also has an understanding of the value of a pound and that she can budget her money she earns.
i gave her an option she can earn, pocket money to the same as my minimum wage rate but she must pay half of everything and her own way, she declined as she knows even though i earn more i have to pay far more out, as it is not cheap to run a home and then be home educated on top, etc etc
ps if you educate yourself on polotics then you will know the new gov are intending to make it worth your while to work
don’t forget some of you maybe in tiled to tax credits a a family/couple and single person working tax credits
to help top up your money if your not earning enough etc
also if your desabled and working you may get extra help too
try their web page i think its gov.co.uk
good news for those who are not being paid min wage
http://www.lifetracks.com/working/money/minimum-wage-changes?gclid=CMG1r6_u7aQCFSL92AoduXJT1Q
Did you know?
The National Minimum Wage was introduced in the UK in 1999 – unfortunately, that doesn’t mean all employers play by the rules.
According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), in 2008 there were 288,000 jobs in the UK which paid less than the NMW.
People in part-time work are twice as likely to earn less than the NMW.
Of this group, women were more likely to be in jobs that pay less than the NMW, because more women work part-time.
The good news is that changes brought in by the Employment Act 2008 mean that from April 2009, employers face a penalty if HMRC discover they have failed to pay workers the minimum wage. Workers will be entitled to have backdated wages repaid at current rates. The Act also gives HMRC officers new inspection powers.
i used to work at a home bargains.. and i believe their breaks method is illegal.. we worked 10 hrs on a saturday with just a half hr break… and 8 hrs on a sunday with 30 min break.. and when you only worked 6 hrs on sunday you only got a 15 min.. when the law is.. you should get 20.. ok it’s only 5 min difference, but it means a lot in a short time.
when i was 18, they were paying me a 16 yr old wage on the pay roll.. the pay roll are very ‘arsey’ –
it’s an industry where most management wak upon you, and the customers complete the uglyness.
trust me – don’t ever fall into this hole
hi just wont 2 now if you have any jobs going parttime could u plz let me now thanks
I’m 17 years old. I think it’s insulting how the guverment sets the min wage for £3.57 I work 10 houres a day wit tow half hour brakes and I get £35 a day witch is allright money but I work with a 22 yeare old and she get almost dubble for doing less work it’s not right
Hi my name is beni i’m 13 and 14 next year could i still work and where?
I used to work in a hairdressers, when I was 15 from 9-5 (plus longer if we still had clients) for a fixed amount of £20 a day, which my friends could earn in under 4 hours? Just because they were sixteen. The boss at the hairdressers, secretly sacked me just so she didn’t have to pay me minimum wage as my birthday was coming up. There was also a girl there who worked full time who didn’t receive a minimum wage until she was 19! i think it is disgusting how hairdressers get away with not paying a minimum wage! I also think the minimum wage here is far to low for teens, because not all of us get ’ema’ and our parents have their own bills to pay!
Some people are so judgemental… reading through some of the comments people have made (Kim’s especially) has really highlighted to me how narrow minded people can be.
Not all under-eighteens have dropped out of school/college to get a job. Some of us are still in full time education working 18 hours a week on top to help our parents out financially…
On the wages front… I’m 16 and I’m a kitchen porter in a pub/restraunt and I get paid £4.75 an hour, can’t complain really!:)
Hi
I have just turned 16 and I get paid
£3.68 an hour, I work in an arcade
In the cashbox, 5-6 hour shifts and I would
Work mon, wed, fri, sat and Sunday.
Tbh the job is ok because I can lay back
And play games on my iPhone but I
Really want to quit and work somewhere
Else that pays £4+ an hour.
I am th oldest in my year and finish
My exams in may, since it’s an arcade
And winter is here I only get maximum
2 shifts a week till spring hits again :/
Any suggestions on where I can work?
My local Mc donalds and KFC are full.
I was wondering; would I be able to work in
Asda, morrisons, home bargains
Wilkinsons etc…?
I work a 4hour shift every other week at the football team near me (Stoke City), I get £26 pound for the four hours. thats more than £6.50 an hour. I started when I was 15, i’m now 16 and it just depends on what jobs you do as to how much you get paid. i don’t get ema because of how much my parents earn, yet this isn’t fair at the fact they can’t afford to give me £30 a week. this is what needs sorting, not the minimum wage.
i work on a farm and my hours vary, i start at 7.30/8 every morning and usualy finish at 5/6. unless we are busy at like summer time and that i can end up workin to any time at night. i do not get overtime, and am payed 5.65. is this right? btw i am 17
17 years old 14,000 a year 4 and half days a week. apply yourself.
I Am Now 17 With No Work Experience So What Would Be A Good Start For A Wage?
it is so cheap