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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i’ve just turned 15years old, and i get paid £6 an hour for being a kitchen porter, many of the other staff were i work are upset that i get paid the same as them when i’m only 15. It is good that i get paid this much, but is it wrong that i get this much when they get the same.
:] respect!
I think its sick, basically I’m 17 and have left college because I messed up the first year I have decided to go back in September but need to earn some travel money I applied for 19 jobs and only 1 place got back to me I will be on £5.53 and hour and working 24hours per week at a local holiday park…I feel I should be on a lot more just because I am young…I did want to leave home but I don’t see how I can working for less that £100 a week. No wonder more and more teens are still living with their parents they cant afford to move out everything is rising in price but the wages seem to stay the same how is this fair the Government needs to sort their act out. I think they should be one minimum wage for all ages and it should be about £7.50 per hour at least that way people might be able to take better care of them selves and their family life
Why is life soo shit !! No wounder people relate there selfs to selling drugs and crime. You get more money i understand i am 16 my self i am still at school dont jobs noo that we are still at school WORKING HARD doing exams and homework also coming to work and only getting paid £3.53 an hour whatss the point its treating us different because of our age why does it matter if your older or younger its gay !! i dont understand when people say they have had more experience dont be so pethetic thats silly who cares weather you have been working there for years and you may be 40 !! say a 22 comes along and joins they have no experience becasue they have just started ummmm……. but gess what they still get the same money as you’s so there you have it !!! Dont understand might aswell stick me self on the dole thats what everyelse does these days no one seems the point in working !!!! As you get the same amount off them as you would a month off the dole why waste the time working when your getting the money FREE please expliain Hahahahaha
heyy i am a 16 year old girl who works on a bread stall i get a fiver and hour 🙂 last saturdaay i walked away with 50 poundss 😉 yeaaah xx
i used to work on the farm where i used to live at the age of 14-15 and i did either driving tractors laying concrete or doing cattle testing or welding and i worked from 7.30am – 8.00pm for £50 thats £4.34 and now i am 16 and looking for a job legaly and to be honest i`d rather work on the farm you learn a lot more to do with life instead of doing a machine job like do this do that i could just dos about some days but work really hard the next and i get a nice roast dinner every day i work there yeah man but i aint working legaly when i get paid like near enuff £1 off so bush that but oh well peace
if you dont like the wage … GO BACK TO SCHOOL !! if your under 18 your emplyer is soley responsibl for you so actually means they have to put more effort in …, plus the fact that its like insurance on a car the younger you are the more likely you are to crash so you pay more … the younger you are the more likely you are to mess up or call in sick or have pathetic boyfriend/girlfriend troubles!
Hi i am 16 and i work in a cafe and it says on here that my minuim wage is £3.57 and im getting quite annoyed that im only getting around £2.50 an hour. Like for example the other week i worked 7 hours and i should have been paid £24.99 when all i got was £18.57 are they aloud do pay me lower than the minuim wage.
Hi i am 16 and i work in a cafe and it says on here that my minuim wage is £3.57 and im getting quite annoyed that im only getting around £2.50 an hour. Like for example the other week i worked 7 hours and i should have been paid £24.99 when all i got was £18.57 are they aloud do pay me lower than the minuim wage.
i am working a a caravan site i am working for 4.85 a hour and i wolk away with £139.05 a week i think this is so crap seeing i am 18 years old and hove to pay bill sush as rent and food and other bills i end up having about 40 pound to spend a week what a joke
I used to pay everyone whatever age the same £6.25 per hour but the majority of my staff under 18 still turned up with a hangover, if they turned up at all so I now pay the miminum wage until they have proven themselves to be reliable. I know not every under 18 is like this but in my experience they are.
i think the wage should be put up we are all working, i think we should all be payed the same amount. none of this aww your only 17 your not old enough to get mimium wage yet.
who is with me on the fact everyone should be paid the same ???
People are paid more because of life and work experience. We all have to start at the bottom and work up. More mature people have many qualities to offer because they have experienced many situations and have more skills to offer.
Nobody owes us a living. Prove that you can do the job. Get experience and you will be paid the rate
HIya, i need some help, i work 24 hours a week and i’m 16 and i only get £75 ?
your all lucky you get any money at all. stop your complaining there are lots of people who cant get jobs at all. i get 4.25 an hour and im happy
Some people say that older people get paid more because they have more experience. But what about if they only start work at like aged 22, they still get paid more than someone who has been working longer than them and is 17. I think that the wage you earn should be down to experience. Just because someone is older doesnt neccesarily mean that they have more experience and that they are better at the job.