The Low Pay Commission (LPC) has been asked to recommend to the Government in October of this year the level of the UK’s minimum wage rates to apply from April 2017- 2018.
On the National Living Wage (NLW), they are particularly interested in:
- evidence on the effect of the introductory rate of £7.20 on workers, employers, the labour market and the economy - including how firms are adjusting and impacts on pay, terms and conditions, income, hours, employment and competitiveness;
- views of the projected ‘on target’ rate for April 2017. The figure will change between now and the autumn as new pay data and forecasts are published but we currently estimate it to be around £7.60 in April 2017, rising to just over £9 by 2020.
- views on the LPC’s proposed approach to making recommendations on the NLW (This is set out in detail below in Appendix Two ).
On the other minimum wage rates, they are particularly interested in:
- evidence on the impact of the rates on younger workers’ employment prospects including evidence on how widely the new 21-24 Year Old Rate is used, and whether the NLW has affected the employment prospects of workers aged under 25.
- views on how we adjust the level of the recommendations given that an April 2017 increase will come six months after the forthcoming October 2016 increases. This reflects the fact that the NLW was introduced on a different calendar to the other rates, whose schedule is being revised to align with it. The consequence is two increases in 18 months rather than the 24 that would otherwise apply.
The deadline for responses to the consultation is 29 July 2016.