Articles on Jobseekers Advice

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Minimum wage law

Governments implement minimum wage law to provide employees with a minimum level of standards and fairness in the workplace.  Obviously the minimum wage rates and legislations vary from country to country.

Minimum wage law in the UK

The United Kingdom for example, imposes a minimum wage through the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) who base their figures on findings by the independent Low Pay Commission.

The minimum wage in the UK can also vary depending on your age, as described on the DTI's employee relations webpage.  Here you can also find interesting information about the history of the minimum wage, minimum wage laws and legislations, and a guide for employees (FAQ's).

Minimum wage law in the US

The US minimum wage is determined by the Federal Government (Department of Labor) in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) but individual states are free to assign their own minimum wage.  This diagram shows the breakdown of state by state minimum wages, indicating that the majority of states offer the Federal minimum wage or higher.

In the case where a state requires a different minimum wage, then the higher of the two applies.

There is a question and answers page on the DoL website, which covers most the issues relating to the US minimum wage law, but you can also check here for more information about the FLSA.

Also, have a look at this interesting chart which details the minimum wage increases from 1938 to date.

 - Scott Boyd - Webmaster and Founder - Jobseekers Advice

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