From Thursday 1 October 2015, the adult rate of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) will rise by 20 pence from £6.50 to £6.70 per hour, as recommended by the Low Pay Commission (LPC) in March 2015 this year.

The government has rejected the LPC’s recommendation for the apprentice rate. The new apprenticeship rate will be set at £3.30 and represents a rise of 57 pence, the largest ever increase in the National Minimum Wage for apprentices. By implementing a rate higher than the LPC’s recommendation, the government intends that apprenticeships will deliver a wage that is comparable to other choices for work.
Business Secretary Vince Cable is also planning to launch the National Minimum Wage Accelerator – an online tool which will make it easier to compare rates of pay across regions, sectors and occupations. It will take data from the annual survey of hours and earnings and display information about pay so that people are able to compare wages with others in their sector and region

From 1 October 2015:
– The adult rate will increase by 20 pence to £6.70 per hour
– The rate for 18 to 20 year olds will increase by 17 pence to £5.30 per hour
– The rate for 16 to 17 year olds will increase by 8 pence to £3.87 per hour
– The apprentice rate will increase by 57 pence to £3.30 per hour
– The accommodation offset increases from the current £5.08 to £5.35
This is the largest real-terms increase in the National Minimum Wage since 2007, and more than 1.4 million of Britain’s lowest-paid workers are set to benefit.

RAISING THE PARTICIPATION AGE – CHOICES AFTER SCHOOL
The truth about the school leaving age and what young people’s option are!

The government is raising the participation age for those who have finished their GCSEs. The aim is to ensure that young people have higher levels of skills, training and qualifications to prepare them for their adult life. The government want to improve their prospects by requiring that they remain in some form of education and training.

The age at which you could previously leave school in England depended on when you were born. Young people could leave school on the last Friday in June, as long as they were 16 by the end of that year’s summer holidays.

But now things are changing, so what does this mean for your son or daughter?

The participation age (sometimes known as the ‘school leaving age’) is rising.

Young people who finished year 11 this summer, have to remain in some form of education until at least their 18th birthday.  (For those that left school in summer 2013, they had to stay on until summer 2014.)

Young people do not, however, have to remain in school. Which is why the term school leaving age can be a bit confusing!

For those leaving school this summer, full-time education is an option, but this does not mean they have to continue on in their current school.  Students can choose to study at a college, a sixth form college or school sixth form.

There are lots of different courses available at local colleges including A Levels and vocational courses in a wide variety of subjects.  Sixth form colleges usually offer a broader choice of subjects at A Level, so it is worth doing the research so your son/daughter gets the right study programme for them.

And this is not the only option. Young people can take part in an apprenticeship or traineeship. There is also the opportunity to work full-time (which in this case means 20+ hours a week for at least 8 weeks), as long as they are also taking part in some part-time education or training on the side. Part-time volunteering also counts towards this option.

The legal responsibility for staying on falls to the young people themselves, rather than their parents. Local authorities will identify those who are not participating in education and ensure that they are enrolled in something that is suitable for them, and will help them work towards learning the skills and training necessary for their future lives.