Pay rise for apprentices planned
06/10/2014
Vince Cable will today announce plans to raise the apprentice minimum wage by £1.06. The Lib Dem Business Secretary is due to announce the rise at the Liberal Democrats annual conference in Glasgow later, and the move is known to be backed by the Conservatives. If cleared by regulators, it could come into effect by October this year.
According to the government’s website, apprentices at the moment are entitled to a minimum wage of £2.68 per hour if they are aged 16 to 18 or aged over 19 and are in their first year. The new plans will raise the minimum hourly rate to £3.79. The current minimum wage for under 18’s is £3.79, for 18-20 year olds it is £5.13 and for anyone 21 and over it is £6.50.
The Liberal Democrats have also launched an attack on the Conservative over their proposed benefits freeze in their conference, and have backed calls for a review of Universal Credit; reform of the Hardship Fund; changes to the Work Programme; an easing of benefit sanctions and more support for claimants.
Mr Cable said it was "completely unnecessary that low income people will be punished, that the working poor should be punished, to give tax relief to people at the top end of the income scale".
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