Low Pay Commission
The Low Pay Commission (LPC) is an independent body in the United Kingdom that advises the government on the National Minimum Wage. It is an advisory non-departmental public body of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). The LPC was established in July 1997 on a non-statutory basis before being confirmed in legislation by the National Minimum Wage Act 1998.
The LPC consists of nine Low Pay Commissioners who are selected by BIS. The Commissioners are a mixture of employers, trade unionists and academics.[1] Each year the LPC advises the government on what rates the different minimum wages in the UK should be, announcing its pay recommendation six months before it would come into force. It is then up to the government to accept or reject the LPC's recommendations. In the past, the government has usually accepted the wage levels advocated by the LPC.[2]
In March 2014 the Resolution Foundation issued the report More Than A Minimum which proposed that the LPC's role should be expanded to include publishing the following:
- An indication of its intentions for the minimum wage one year ahead.
- Analysis to show which sectors of the economy could afford to pay more than the minimum wage to encourage wage rises.
- Advice for government on low pay policy in the same way that the Office of Budget Responsibility influences fiscal policy.[3]
See also
References
- ↑ "Low Pay Commission: About". gov.uk. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
- ↑ "Minimum wage: The Low Pay Commission backs a 3% increase". BBC News. 26 February 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
- ↑ Alan Tovey (12 Mar 2014). "Low Pay Commission needs shake-up to keep up with changing world". The Telegraph. Retrieved 18 March 2014.