Community: Real Life

Age wage difference


Hoda

Hoda is an intern at the British Youth Council, a young ambassador for the Prince's Trust and a journalism graduate. She's interested in charity work and would like to pursue a career in political journalism and news writing.

Hoda can't believe that we get paid according to how old we are rather than the type of work we do. How is that possible?

When I was 16 years-old I was unaware of the pay difference and I'm sure the same is true for lots of people now. When I first started working at 16 I was clueless - all I cared about was making my own money, the feeling of being independent and just excited that I had started my new job. Pay depending on your age is discrimination, and we all know that any form of discrimination is wrong. Working as an intern for British Youth Council (BYC), a youth charity campaigning, empowering and inspiring young people, we try to raise awareness of this.

The Equal National Minimum Wage (ENMW) campaign is a priority at the BYC. You might be unsure of what I'm talking about and wondering what the whole fuss is about, so let me explain. In Britain, by law we can work at 16 which is great, but there's a downfall. If for example I was 16 and working in retail, my minimum wage would be different to a 22 year-old's, regardless of whether we do the same type and hours of work. Now is that fair you ask? Of course it's not. Our age shouldn't determine our wages.

It's really important that young workers are not stereotyped as working for 'pocket money'. We live in a society where 16 to 18 year-olds have a similar lifestyle and responsibilities of that to a 21 year-old. Come on, I'm sure a majority of 16 to 18 year-olds have phone bills or need to top up their phones. They may well have to pay for travel and food and would probably like driving lessons, to own a car,  and preferably have a social life. In addition, babies are born from young parents, so a dad at the age of 17 will receive a lower wage of that to a typical 30 year old father. The last time I checked, their responsibilities as a father have not changed just because of how old they are.

"It's really important that young workers are not stereotyped as working for 'pocket money'."

The Government argues that the reason for the low pay for 16 to 21 year-olds is to encourage young people to go for higher education. However, there's evidence that since 1998 there has been no shift in the amount of students aged 18 to 21 enrolling in full time education. Therefore, rather than being an incentive for young people, the lower pay rate in the minimum wage would deter them from entering the workplace. Consequently it may contribute a rise in the number of people who would claim state benefit, what we call Job Seekers' Allowance.

Let's not forget the impact of doing low paid jobs at the Minimum Wage has on students. The NUS has also recently published the NUS Student Experience Report 2008. The in-depth report, found that an overwhelming majority of students, three out of four, get jobs to help make ends meet, either during term-time or during the holidays. Holiday work was more popular than term-time work with 51% of students planning to work during the holidays, compared to 35% during term time.

At the BYC we believe that the current three-level system discriminates against young people. It implies young people deserve lower rates of pay regardless of their skills or experience in the job. Campaigners have been really active in changing the wage difference, delivering 1800 letters to the Low Pay Commission and lobbying the Government until there's a fair equal National Minimum Wage. So join the fight for equal pay for equal work across the UK for everyone over 16.

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Updated: 27/01/2009


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