No Minimum Wage Decision Before April

There will be no recommendation made on the island’s minimum wage before the new financial year.

The Minimum Wage Committee asked for extra time before making a decision, a delay which will lead to UK residents aged over 21 being legally entitled to more than their Manx counterparts.

Having been granted the extra time, a DfE spokesperson said that ‘a competitive tender process has been undertaken on behalf of the Minimum Wage Committee and a supplier has now been appointed to undertake an impact assessment’.

They added: ‘It is expected that the findings of the assessment will be finalised by mid-April, at which point the Minimum Wage Committee will consider further ahead of making recommendations to the Department for Enterprise and Treasury.’

Following initial consideration of input received, assessment of available data and further deliberation, the Committee requested support of both the DfE and Treasury to conduct a more detailed impact assessment before recommending changes to the current rates.

As things stand, the UK’s minimum wage for over 21s, who will quality for the ‘National Living Wage’, will be £11.44 an hour. By contrast, Manx workers over the age of 18 would only be legally entitled to £10.75 an hour.

UK workers aged 18 to 20 would be entitled a minimum of £8.60 an hour, while those under 18 and apprentices would be entitled to £6.40 an hour.

On the island, the only other minimum legal requirement is for those over the school leaving age, but under 18, which is £8.05 an hour.

Delay in Decision on Minimum Wage