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Government Considers Delaying Plan To Equalise Youth Minimum Wage. The UK government is considering delaying plans to equalise the minimum wage for 18 to 20-year-olds with those over 21, despite a pledge to remove age-based pay bands. Labour committed in its manifesto to raising younger workers’ pay to match the £12.21 hourly rate for adults. But ministers are now said to be exploring a slower timetable, although they are not expected to scrap the policy altogether. Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens told the BBC that equalisation remains government policy. The discussion comes as new figures from the Office for National Statistics show youth unemployment at 16.1% compared with a national rate of just over 5%. Overall unemployment has climbed to its highest level in nearly five years. Business groups argue that recent wage increases have already raised costs and discouraged hiring. Ministers must now weigh support for young workers against growing concerns about the state of the job market.
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