Research on minimum wage youth rates
We are publishing two pieces of research commissioned to support our review of the youth rates of the National Minimum Wage.
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To support the Low Pay Commission’s review of the youth rates of the National Minimum Wage, we commissioned two pieces of research to help understand the impacts of the rates on employers and young people.
The first report, by the University of Westminster, looks at the factors that shape young people’s labour market decisions. The second, by the National Institute for Economic and Social Research, focuses on employers’ decisions over the use of the youth rates.
The Low Pay Commission submitted its advice on the structure of the minimum wage youth rates to the Government in August. The detailed report setting out the evidence for our recommendation has now been published. In September, the Chancellor announced his acceptance of our recommendation to reduce the age of eligibility for the National Living Wage to 21 in two steps, starting by reducing the threshold to 23 in April 2021.