Minimum Wage Increase

The Government has accepted the recommendations by the Low Pay Commission to increase the National Minimum Wage by just 17p to £5.52 per hour from October 2007.

In excess of a million workers, two-thirds of them women, are set to benefit from the rise.
The wage plan also means that pay for 18 to 21 year olds has increased to £4.60, from £4.45, and from £3.30 to £3.40 for 16 to 17 year olds.

The small increase has been widely welcomed, John Philpott,chief economist at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) welcomed the news saying: “The Low Pay Commission has served to strike a fair balance on the low pay or no pay spectrum and today’s recommendation is no different. A cautious increase this year, in line with what price inflation will probably be come the autumn, seems sensible.”

The Forum of Private Business (FPB) has welcomed the UK Government's decision to limit this year's increase in the National Minimum Wage, saying it was time that "a sense of reality intruded"

Full details of all the increases can be found on the DTI Website by clicking here.