§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is his estimate of the cost to employers of introducing a national minimum wage at £45 a week or £1.13 an hour, applicable to all workers aged 21 years and over.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerBringing gross weekly earnings, excluding overtime pay, of full-time workers aged 21 and over up to £45 at April 1978 would have increased that component of the total wage and salary bill by around 1 per cent. The additional cost in cash terms would be approximately £10 million per week. This rough estimate is based on the new earnings survey results for those whose pay was not affected by absence. It takes no account of repercussions on those with higher earnings, or on overtime payments nor of part-time employment.