Long title | An Act to make provision for and in connection with a national minimum wage; to provide for the amendment of certain enactments relating to the remuneration of persons employed in agriculture; and for connected purposes. |
---|---|
Citation | 1998 c. 39 |
Introduced by | Margaret Beckett, President of the Board of Trade[1] |
Territorial extent | England and Wales; Scotland; Northern Ireland |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 31 July 1998 |
Status: Current legislation | |
Text of statute as originally enacted | |
Revised text of statute as amended |
The National Minimum Wage Act 1998 (c. 39) creates a minimum wage across the United Kingdom.[2] From 1 April 2024, the minimum wage is £11.44 per hour for people aged 21 and over, £8.60 for 18- to 20-year-olds, and £6.40 for 16- to 17-year-olds and apprentices aged under 19 or in the first year of their apprenticeship.[3] (See Current and past rates.)
It was a flagship policy of the Labour Party in the UK during their successful 1997 general election campaign.[2] The national minimum wage (NMW) took effect on 1 April 1999. On 1 April 2016, an amendment to the act attempted an obligatory "National Living Wage" for workers over 25 (now extended to workers aged 21 and over), which was implemented at a significantly higher minimum wage rate of £7.20. This was expected to rise to at least £9 per hour by 2020,[4] but in reality by that year it had only reached £8.72 per hour.[5]
gov_uk_2024
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).