The Low Pay Commission (LPC) is an independent body in the United Kingdom, established in 1997, that advises the government on the National Minimum Wage. It is an advisory non-departmental public body of the Department for Business and Trade (DBT).
The Low Pay Commission (LPC) is an independent body in the United Kingdom, established in 1997, that advises the government on the National Minimum Wage. It is an advisory non-departmental public body of the Department for Business and Trade (DBT).
The LPC was established in July 1997 on a non-statutory basis before being confirmed in legislation by the National Minimum Wage Act 1998.
Each year, the LPC advises the government on what rates the different minimum wages in the UK should be, announcing its recommendation six months before it would come into force. It is then up to the government to accept or reject the LPC's recommendations. The government has usually accepted the wage levels advocated by the LPC. [1]
The LPC consists of nine Low Pay Commissioners who are selected by the DBT. The Commissioners are a mixture of employers, trade unionists and academics. [2]
In March 2014 the Resolution Foundation issued the report More Than A Minimum which proposed that the LPC's role should be expanded to include publishing the following:
A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Because minimum wages increase the cost of labor, companies often try to avoid minimum wage laws by using gig workers, by moving labor to locations with lower or nonexistent minimum wages, or by automating job functions. Minimum wage policies can vary significantly between countries or even within a country, with different regions, sectors, or age groups having their own minimum wage rates. These variations are often influenced by factors such as the cost of living, regional economic conditions, and industry-specific factors.
Welfare reform is the process of proposing and adopting changes to a welfare system in order to improve the efficiency and administration of government assistance programs with the goal of enhancing equity and fairness for both welfare recipients and taxpayers. Reform programs have various aims: empowering individuals to help them become self-sufficient, ensuring the sustainability and solvency of various welfare programs, and/or promoting equitable distribution of resources. Welfare reform is constantly debated because of the varying opinions on a government's need to balance the imperatives of guaranteeing welfare benefits and promoting self-sufficiency.
A living wage is defined as the minimum income necessary for a worker to meet their basic needs. This is not the same as a subsistence wage, which refers to a biological minimum, or a solidarity wage, which refers to a minimum wage tracking labor productivity. Needs are defined to include food, housing, and other essential needs such as clothing. The goal of a living wage is to allow a worker to afford a basic but decent standard of living through employment without government subsidies. Due to the flexible nature of the term "needs", there is not one universally accepted measure of what a living wage is and as such it varies by location and household type. A related concept is that of a family wage – one sufficient to not only support oneself, but also to raise a family.
HM Revenue and Customs is a non-ministerial department of the UK Government responsible for the collection of taxes, the payment of some forms of state support, the administration of other regulatory regimes including the national minimum wage and the issuance of national insurance numbers. HMRC was formed by the merger of the Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise, which took effect on 18 April 2005. The department's logo is the Tudor Crown enclosed within a circle.
The National Minimum Wage Act 1998 creates a minimum wage across the United Kingdom. From 1 April 2024, the minimum wage is £11.44 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.
George Sayers Bain is a Canadian-British academic and public commissioner. His academic research focuses on industrial relations, and he has also served as President and Vice-Chancellor of Queen's University Belfast (1998-2004), principal of the London Business School (1989–97), and chair of Warwick Business School (1983–89). He served as a commissioner on many public inquiries, including chairing the United Kingdom's Low Pay Commission, which introduced the National Minimum Wage in 1999, and the Northern Ireland Memorial Fund (1998-2002), an organisation offering support to victims of the Troubles.
Sir David Ronald Norgrove is an English businessman and government official, who was chair of the UK Statistics Authority from 2017 to 2022. He was previously the first chairman of The Pensions Regulator, and then chair of the Low Pay Commission.
Minimum wage law is the body of law which prohibits employers from hiring employees or workers for less than a given hourly, daily or monthly minimum wage. More than 90% of all countries have some kind of minimum wage legislation.
The Climate Change Committee (CCC), originally named the Committee on Climate Change, is an independent non-departmental public body, formed under the Climate Change Act (2008) to advise the United Kingdom and devolved Governments and Parliaments on tackling and preparing for climate change. The Committee provides advice on setting carbon budgets, and reports regularly to the Parliaments and Assemblies on the progress made in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Notably, in 2019 the CCC recommended the adoption of a target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by the United Kingdom by 2050. On 27 June 2019 the British Parliament amended the Climate Change Act (2008) to include a commitment to net zero emissions by 2050. The CCC also advises and comments on the UK's progress on climate change adaptation through updates to Parliament.
In the United States, the minimum wage is set by U.S. labor law and a range of state and local laws. The first federal minimum wage was instituted in the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933, signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, but later found to be unconstitutional. In 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act established it at 25¢ an hour. Its purchasing power peaked in 1968, at $1.60 In 2009, it was increased to $7.25 per hour, and has not been increased since.
The New York State Department of Labor is the department of the New York state government that enforces labor law and administers unemployment benefits.
Philippa Claire Stroud, Baroness Stroud is a Conservative Party Peer in the House of Lords and leader of several conservative think tanks.
The Minimum Wage OrdinanceCap. 608 is an ordinance enacted by the Legislative Council of Hong Kong to introduce a minimum wage in Hong Kong in July 2010. The executive branch proposed a minimum wage of HK$28 (~US$3.61) per hour in November 2010, which the Legislative Council voted to accept after much debate in January 2011. It came into effect on 1 May 2011. Prior to this, there had also been a fixed minimum wage for one specific class of workers, foreign domestic helpers, of HK$3,740/month. The Hong Kong statutory minimum wage for non-domestic workers is HK$37.5 (~US$4.83) per hour, effective 1 May 2019.
The Minimum Wages Act 1948 is an Act of Parliament concerning Indian labour law that sets the minimum wages that must be paid to skilled and unskilled labours.
The Resolution Foundation is an independent British think tank established in 2005. Its stated aim is to improve the standard of living of low-to-middle income families.
John Cridland, CBE is a British business executive. He was the tenth Director-General of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) from January 2011 to November 2015.
The Social Mobility Commission (SMC), formerly the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission (2012–16) and originally the Child Poverty Commission (2010–12), is an advisory non-departmental public body of the Department for Education (DfE) in England.
The Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) is an interdisciplinary research centre at the London School of Economics dedicated to the study of economic growth and effective ways to create a fair, inclusive and sustainable society. Currently led by Prof. Stephen Machin, it is one of the world's most prestigious economic research institutes, being the most important economic research institute in the United Kingdom, jointly with the Centre for Economic Policy Research. Its research performance has been particularly strong in the research areas of labour economics, productivity, happiness economics, human capital, the knowledge economy, ICT, innovation, education, and European microeconomic issues.
The Living Wage Foundation is a campaigning organisation in the United Kingdom which aims to persuade employers to pay a living wage. The organisation was established in 2011, publishes an annual Living Wage figure and for a fee accredits employers who pay at the rate of the “living wage”. From 15 November 2021, the living wage rate or "real living wage" is £9.90 per hour outside London and £11.05 per hour within London. Increases to £10.90 outside London and £11.95 inside London were announced on 22 September 2022, with the Living Wage Foundation expecting member employers to implement the increase "as soon as possible but by the latest 14th May 2023". The BBC reported in September 2022 that there are 11,000 businesses who are accredited by the Foundation.
Royal Mencap Society v Tomlinson-Blake [2021] UKSC 8 is a UK labour law case, concerning the right to be paid, when an employer constrains their worker's freedom.
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