Employment (Minimum Wage) (Jersey) Regulations 2004 & Employment (Minimum Wage) (Jersey) Order 2007: Amendments: Law drafting instructions

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A decision made 23 September 2014:

Decision Reference: MD-S-2014-0127

Decision Summary Title :

2015 Minimum Wage Law Drafting

Date of Decision Summary:

23 September 2014

Decision Summary Author:

Policy Principal

Decision Summary:

Public or Exempt?

Public

Type of Report:

Oral or Written?

Written

Person Giving

Oral Report:

Written Report

Title :

2015 Minimum Wage Law Drafting

Date of Written Report:

23 September 2014

Written Report Author:

Policy Principal

Written Report :

Public or Exempt?

Public

Subject: Minimum Wage 2015 – Law drafting instructions for changes to the Minimum wage Regulations and Order

Decision(s): The Minister decided to request that the Employment (Minimum Wage) (Jersey) Regulations 2004 and the Employment (Minimum Wage) (Jersey) Order 2007 be amended in accordance with the Employment Forum’s minimum wage recommendations for 1 April 2015.

Reason(s) for Decision: The Employment Forum published its minimum wage recommendation on 23 September 2014 which recommended that the minimum wage and associated rates should be increased from 1 April 2015. The Minister decided to present a report notifying the States that he has accepted the recommended rates (MD-S-2014-0127), which are as follows;

	2014	2015
Minimum Wage (per hour)	£6.63	£6.78
Trainee Rate Year 1 (per hour)	£4.97	£5.09
Trainee Rate Year 2 (per hour)	£5.80	£5.93
Maximum weekly offset against minimum wage for accommodation	£72.54	£74.21
Maximum weekly offset against minimum wage for accommodation & food	£96.72	£98.94
Maximum weekly offset against trainee rates for accommodation	£54.41	£55.66
Maximum weekly offset against trainee rates for accommodation & food	£72.54	£74.21

Resource Implications: There are no financial or manpower implications.

Action required: Policy Principal to submit drafting instructions to the Law Draftsman’s Office.

Signature:

Position:

Date Signed:

Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Employment (Minimum Wage) (Jersey) Regulations 2004 & Employment (Minimum Wage) (Jersey) Order 2007: Amendments: Law drafting instructions

Minimum Wage for April 2015 - Law Drafting Instructions

Background

The Employment Forum (the ‘Forum’) consulted on the minimum wage during the period 16 June to 18 August 2014 and publicised its recommendation to the Minister for Social Security (the ‘Minister’) on 23 September 2014.

The Forum was established in August 1999 and its role and responsibilities were formalised in the Employment (Jersey) Law 2003, which came into force on 1 July 2005. The Forum has a statutory duty to consult on the minimum wage and to make recommendations to the Minister regarding any future increases, taking into account the economy and competitiveness. If the Minister decides not to accept the Forum’s minimum wage recommendations, he or she must provide a statement to the States giving reasons for that decision.

In accordance with a decision of the States in April 2010, the Forum must also have regard to the States objective that the minimum wage should be set at a rate that is equivalent to 45 percent of average weekly earnings by 2026, subject to consideration of competitiveness, jobs and the economy.

Minister’s response to recommendations

The Minister accepted the recommendations of the Forum, which are as follows;

	2014	2015
Minimum Wage (per hour)	£6.63	£6.78
Trainee Rate Year 1 (per hour)	£4.97	£5.09
Trainee Rate Year 2 (per hour)	£5.80	£5.93
Maximum weekly offset against minimum wage for accommodation	£72.54	£74.21
Maximum weekly offset against minimum wage for accommodation & food	£96.72	£98.94
Maximum weekly offset against trainee rates for accommodation	£54.41	£55.66
Maximum weekly offset against trainee rates for accommodation & food	£72.54	£74.21

Law Drafting

The Minister requests that the Law Draftsman amends the legislation as follows:

Employment (Minimum Wage) Order 2007 (the ‘Order’)

Article 2 of the Order, as amended by the Employment (Minimum Wage) (Amendment No. 7) (Jersey) Order 2013, sets the minimum wage rates and should be amended as follows;

The hourly minimum wage rate should increase from £6.63 to £6.78.

The hourly minimum wage rate for a trainee (except as described in point 3 below) should increase from £4.97 to £5.09.

The hourly minimum wage rate for a trainee who has completed 12 months’ approved training in a job should increase from £5.80 to £5.93.

All of the above changes should come into force on 1 April 2015.

Employment (Minimum Wage) (Jersey) Regulations 2004 (the ‘Regulations’)

Regulation 9, as amended by the Employment (Minimum Wage) (Amendment No. 10) (Jersey) Regulations 2013, sets limits on the amounts that may be taken into account where food and living accommodation are provided to staff as part of their employment package. These amounts are taken into account to determine whether the appropriate minimum wage has been paid. The maximum amounts should be increased as follows;

Where the employer provides food and living accommodation and pays the minimum wage, the maximum offset should be £98.94 per week or £14.13 per day.

Where the employer provides living accommodation and pays the minimum wage, the maximum offset should be £74.21 per week or £10.60 per day.

Where the employer provides food and living accommodation and pays either of the two trainee rates, £74.21 per week or £10.60 per day.

Where the employer provides living accommodation and pays either of the two trainee rates, £55.66 per week or £7.95 per day.

All of the above changes should come into force on 1 April 2015.