Scrap the ‘unfair and obsolete’ youth minimum wage says TUC

Ahead of the Spring Statement, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) released new analysis. It shows that a million 18-20 year olds (85%) already earn above the youth minimum wage. This, the TUC claims, renders the youth rate not only unfair, but also “obsolete” as only 1 in 7 receives it.

Youth minimum wage increasingly irrelevant

740,000 young people (63% of those in work) are paid at or above the adult national minimum wage. So the youth rate doesn’t apply to them at all.

Given the majority of employers already pay young people a fair wage, “doomsday” warnings about the impact of equalising rates are “scaremongering and misleading”, says the TUC. Needless to say, the millionaire Scrooges at Reform are leading this cry and want to pay young people even less.

At the moment, adults 21 and over must get a minimum of £12.21 per hour. The youth minimum wage, for those aged between 18 and 20, is £10 per hour.

This speaks to a fundamental issue of fairness. Young people, the TUC says:

pay the same bills as everyone else, and deserve a fair wage for their work.

Unions find that many businesses report they don’t want to deal with this unfairness. And they want to avoid the administrative burden of changing workers’ pay as they get older.

Closing the gap

Labour’s manifesto promised to remove discriminatory age bands. In fact, successive governments have reduced the gap between the adult rate and youth rate. And yet this has had no negative impact on employment.

Reform and the Conservatives have both called for youth rates to stay in place. But the process of equalising youth minimum wage rates actually began under the previous (Conservative) government. First as 23–24-year-olds became entitled to the adult rate in 2021, and then as 21–22-year-olds joined them in 2024. Further increases since the election have been following this trend.

Despite scaremongering at the time, the Low Pay Commission found previous equalisations happened:

without an increase in unemployment and underpayment.

The Low Pay Commission is the independent body responsible for balancing youth employment with equalising the minimum wage. It’s been doing this effectively for 26 years. The TUC argues it should be trusted to continue its evidence-based approach to finishing the job.

The inherent unfairness of the youth rate became worse over recent years as it fell significantly behind the adult rate. Between 2010 and 2024, the 18-20 rate fell from 83% to just 75% of the full minimum wage.

There is now a small gap remaining – the 18-20 rate from April 2026 will be 85% of the adult rate.

The UK is behind similar countries in still having a youth rate. Countries such as France, Germany and New Zealand do not have lower rates for adults aged 18 and above.

Especially given that even when the youth minimum wage goes, workers under 21 will still be cheaper to hire, as employer National Insurance Contributions only apply to workers aged 21 or over.

Real solutions

The government is right to be sensitive to young people’s unemployment levels. But we need real solutions, not scaremongering about the minimum wage.

The TUC has consistently argued sluggish consumer demand is keeping the UK economy in the slow lane.

Industries which have a greater proportion of minimum wage jobs, like hospitality and retail, need customers with money in their pockets.

It is also important to recognise that recent rises in youth unemployment have been offset by falls in youth economic inactivity rates.

To tackle rising youth unemployment the government should bring forward stronger employment rights, an ambitious jobs guarantee and quality apprenticeships.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said:

Young people pay the same bills as everyone else and deserve a fair wage for their work.

Youth rates are not only unfair, but they’re also increasingly obsolete as most businesses hardly use them.

Youth unemployment is a serious issue that deserves real solutions, like stronger employment rights, an ambitious jobs guarantee and quality apprenticeships – not doomsday scaremongering and misleading claims about the minimum wage.

The Low Pay Commission are the trusted experts and should be trusted to finish the job, setting out a plan to abolish the minimum wage youth rates this parliament.

The government promised to deliver change. Rowing back in the face of unsubstantiated business lobbying – at real cost to young people’s living standards – would be exactly the wrong approach.

Featured image via the Canary