Same rate for the same job, right? Wrong. You can be paid less in the UK because of your age.
The minimum wage in the UK is calculated according to age:
- Under 18: £4.35
- 18-20 years old: £6.15
- 21-24 years old: £7.70
- 25 and over: £8.21
- Apprentice: £3.90
Yet there’s no discount for food, bills or housing if you’re 18.
That’s why UNISON young members are campaigning for all workers to be paid the real living wage – a rate calculated according to what people need to get by. And a crucial step in achieving that for young workers, is to scrap ageist youth rates. Equal work for equal pay must be a reality in the UK in 2019.
We are calling for:
- The national minimum wage to be raised to the level of the real living wage, announced annually by the Living Wage Foundation. It is currently £9 across the UK and £10.55 in London.
- Following this, we want employers and government to move towards a target of £10 an hour.
- Apprentices should be entitled to the same minimum wage rate as all other workers.
Help us change this
Government policy needs to urgently change. But employers also need to signal that they are not going to pay discriminatory rates. We need your help to make them listen.
- Use the #OneWageAnyAge hashtag to show your opposition to the government’s policy. I bet your friends and family don’t know that equal pay is not legally guaranteed in the UK.
- Tell young people about this and ask them to join the campaign. Their voice will be the strongest and the most likely to make the government listen.
- Make this issue visible in your workplace – put up a poster or leaflet. You can order or print them here soon.