New National Minimum Wage Rates 2011 - What Does This Mean For You?
Posted by Ben Williams on Fri, Sep 02, 2011 @ 04:25 AM
The new national minimum wage rates will be coming into effect in October 2011.
If you are of compulsory school age, as well as having some different employment rights, you are not entitled to National Minimum Wage.
The new rates are:
£6.08 per hour for workers aged 21 and over, up from £5.93 (up 2.5%)
£4.98 per hour for 18-20 year olds, up from £4.92 (up 1.2%)
£3.68 per hour for 16-17 year olds, up from £3.64 (up 1.1%)
Last year, an apprentice minimum wage was introduced of £2.50 an hour this is being raised to £2.60 an hour. The new rate will apply to those apprentices who are under 19 or those that are aged 19 and over but in the first year of their apprenticeship. (up 4%)
National Minimum Wage Rates Changes 2011 - What Does This Mean For You?
With inflation (CPI) at 4.4%, this rise will not do much in the way of helping lower-paid workers to ‘bridge the gap’. Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said this:
“This small increase in the minimum wage is completely outstripped by the current rate of inflation”.
There are some fears however, that this increase in the National Minimum Wage could price young workers out of employment. The BBC’s David Frost had this to say:
“The change to the national minimum wage rates announced today is the wrong increase, at the wrong time. These changes will be a barrier to job creation, and ultimately economic recovery”.
According to Business Secretary Vince Cable, however, these National Minimum Wage Rate changes would help more than 890,000 orBritain’s lowest-paid workers.
