Legal advice: Should youth pay rates be challenged?
On October 4 Asda announced plans to pay under-18s the same hourly rate as older workers.
Although the move was not directly in response to age discrimination regulations, which came into force on October 1, 2006, it has opened a debate on whether there should be changes to the minimum wage rules to equalise pay rates and whether youth pay rates can be legally challenged under the legislation.
Although the use of age bands (which have always been a feature of the NMW) may appear inconsistent in relation to the age discrimination legislation, the regulations provide a specific lawful exemption enabling young workers to continue to be paid below the standard adult NMW. It allows the differing rates for those aged 16 and17 and 18 to 22.
A young person who is paid the minimum wage within their age bracket will not be able to claim discrimination on the grounds of age if a worker in a higher age bracket is paid more than them.
However, there could be claims if a person within the same age bracket is paid at a different rate.
Clearly, the age discrimination legislation is set to have wide-reaching implications, and employers need to be reviewing all policies extremely carefully in order to comply.
- Paul Cotton is partner at Eversheds LLP. Its world wide associate offices have over 2,000 legal and business advisers providing services to the private and public sector business and finance community. Its HR practice group provides strategic and practical advice on all areas of employment and pensions law. www.eversheds.com
