Isle of Man national minimum wage age bands to be reviewed

Alex Allinson said age bands for pay were becoming "less relevant"

A review will be held into whether minimum wage age bands on the Isle of Man are "appropriate", the enterprise minister has said.

The payment is set to rise by £1.25 to £9.50 an hour from April after Tynwald backed the first increase since 2019.

Development workers and 16 to 17-year-olds will also see pay go up to £8.05 and £6.80 respectively.

Alex Allinson said those bands would be looked at as part of plans to adopt the Living Wage by April 2025.

That rate, which is currently calculated to be £10.87 per hour, is an estimate of the minimum level of pay needed to allow people the basic opportunities and choices necessary to participate in society.

'Fundamentally flawed'

The Minimum Wage Committee's recommendations were approved by Tynwald on Tuesday, but some politicians raised concerns the separate age-based rates were unfair.

Health minister and Liberal Vannin Party Leader Lawrie Hooper said they were "inappropriate", and the assumption that age equates to experience was "fundamentally flawed".

"An employee that has been with you for two years aged 16-17 clearly has more experience than a brand new employee aged 18," he added.

Dr Allinson said he was aware of the concerns and promised they would be looked at as part of broader efforts to align the minimum and living wages.

The "arbitrary deviations are becoming less and less relevant" as the island moves to a "knowledge and skills based economy", he said.

He added: "The age of a new employee tends to be irrelevant, it is their skills, experience and their ability to do the job which is important, and that should be rewarded by decent pay."