Apprentices and the Minimum Wage - Is there a minimum wage for Apprentices?
by Liam
At present, apprentices aged 18 and below and apprentices in their first year of apprenticeship are not entitled to receive the minimum wage. Although many apprentices falling in to this category do in practice get paid above the minimum wage, this does provide the potential for exploitation and cheap labour. I know of a large luxury yacht building business who has made mass redundancies recently but continues to recruit apprentices to build and fit out their boats.
The government has asked the low pay commission to investigate and make recommendations as to whether minimum wage arrangements for apprentices should change. Watch this space for more news as to whether we may see a new band of minimum wage for apprentices or a removal of the current apprentices exception.
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Apprenticeships UK said at July 3rd, 2009 at 3:45 pm