National Minimum Wage Act 1998

National Minimum Wage Act 1998
Long titleAn Act to make provision for and in connection with a national minimum wage; to provide for the amendment of certain enactments relating to the remuneration of persons employed in agriculture; and for connected purposes.
Citation1998 c. 39
Introduced byMargaret Beckett, President of the Board of Trade[1]
Territorial extent England and Wales; Scotland; Northern Ireland
Dates
Royal assent31 July 1998
Status: Current legislation
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended

The National Minimum Wage Act 1998 (c. 39) creates a minimum wage across the United Kingdom.[2] 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.[3] (See Current and past rates.)

It was a flagship policy of the Labour Party in the UK during their successful 1997 general election campaign.[2] The national minimum wage (NMW) took effect on 1 April 1999. On 1 April 2016, an amendment to the act attempted an obligatory "National Living Wage" for workers over 25 (now extended to workers aged 23 and over), which was implemented at a significantly higher minimum wage rate of £7.20. This was expected to rise to at least £9 per hour by 2020,[4] but in reality by that year it had only reached £8.72 per hour.[5]

  1. ^ Hansard, National Minimum Wage Bill, 16 December 1997, accessed 5 February 2021
  2. ^ a b "National Minimum Wage". politics.co.uk.. E McGaughey, A Casebook on Labour Law (Hart 2019) ch 6(1)
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference gov_uk_2024 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Larry Elliott (30 March 2016). "Third of British workers may benefit from new legal pay level". The Guardian.
  5. ^ Richard Partington (31 December 2019). "Government misses minimum wage target set by Tories in 2015". The Guardian.