The government has come under fire for legislating a lower minimum wage rate for younger people.

The minimum wage is increasing to £8.25 per hour, an increase of 40p, for workers over 18.

The rate for school leavers under the age of 18s to go up from £5.85 to £6.15 and the rate for ’development workers’ - employees aged 18 and over who are in their first six months of employment and are on an accredited training programme - from £6.95 to £7.30.

In Tynwald on Tuesday Clare Bettison branded the lower rate for 16- and 17-year-olds as ’arbitrary’ and Ann Corlett (Douglas Central) warned that it forced working teenagers to seek support from the benefit system.

Tanya August Hanson MLC suggested the different rates equated to ’state-sponsored age discrimination’.

Equality champion Jane Poole-Wilson said that the criticisms were valid. Although the differential between ages was legal, it went against the sentiment of the Equality Act.

Juan Watterson (Rushen) suggested that an alternative to changing the new quality law would be to change the Minimum Wage Act.

Enterprise Minister Laurence acknowledged the comments but warned there were concerns about some sectors of the economy being able to cope with major changes.

Minimum wage rates had only gone up because the island had a ’successful and sustainable economy’, he said.

The minister added: ’We recognise the challenge facing businesses in certain sectors in ensuring their continued profitability and viability in the short to medium term. It is necessary, therefore, to ensure that the process of reviewing the minimum wage seeks to achieve that necessary balance going forward.’

ladder

Treasury Minister Alfred Cannan said different rates for the age sectors were to help young people onto the ’employment ladder’.

Treasury was prepared to re-examine the issue but he warned there was a risk increasing the lower rates might reduce opportunities for younger people.

Meanwhile, Chris Robertshaw said the island’s National Insurance structure disadvantaged the low-paid.

He highlighted a concern raised in the minimum wage committee report about the number of people who held more than one part time job or found themselves working on zero hours contracts, which he feared was enabling employers to reduce National Insurance contributions.

But Mr Cannan said: ’Treasury has absolutely no evidence to back that up.’

He said if anyone had evidence of employers racking up employee numbers on fewer hours to cut NI contributions, to tell the government.

The new minimum wage rates were approved by Tynwald and will take effect in October.

Last month Jermey Corbyn, the leader of the Labour Party in the UK, said he wanted to equalise the minimum wage for all ages.