Adult National Minimum Wage to increase by 12p from 1 October

By John Harrington

- Last updated on GMT

Related tags National minimum wage Minimum wage

Adult National Minimum Wage to increase by 12p from 1 October
The Government has announced that the adult National Minimum Wage (NMW) will increase by 12p, or 1.9%, to £6.31 from 1 October 2013.

The rate for 18-20 year-olds will increase by 5p to £5.03 an hour, and for 16-17 year-olds it will rise by 4p to £3.72 an hour. The apprentice rate will increase by 3p to £2.68 an hour.

The Government has adopted the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission (LPC) on the new rates.

Business Secretary Vince Cable said: "The independent Low Pay Commission plays a crucial role in advising the government when setting the National Minimum Wage every year. It balances wages of low paid workers against employment prospects if the rate was set too high.

"We are accepting its recommendations for the adult and youth National Minimum Wage rate increases, which I am confident strikes this balance. However, there is worrying evidence that a significant number of employers are not paying apprentices the relevant minimum wage rate.

"Apprenticeships are at the heart of our goal to support a stronger economy, and so it is important to continue to make them attractive to young people. Therefore, I am not taking forward the LPC’s recommendation to freeze the apprenticeship rate due to non-compliance, but instead am raising it in line with the youth rates. We are working on a series of tough new measures to ensure we tackle non-compliance issues across the board."

Chair of the LPC, David Norgrove, said: "We welcome publication of our 2013 Report today and the government’s acceptance of our recommendations on the level of the National Minimum Wage for adults and young people. We also very much welcome the Government’s commitment to tackle non-compliance in the areas highlighted by us."

In the statement, the Government said it would be "working with employers, apprentices and training providers to improve awareness of rights and responsibilities on pay".

"Along with this, it will be undertaking focused enforcement work to clamp down on non-compliance by employers of apprentices."

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