§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make it his policy in advance of the introduction of the national minimum wage to give jobcentre managers discretion to refuse a job advertisement where the wage rate is assessed to be unreasonably low. [2996]
§ Mr. Alan HowarthThere are no plans to do so in advance of the conclusions of the Low Pay Commission. However, where an employer notifies a jobcentre of a 49W vacancy offering a rate of pay which appears unduly low, jobcentre staff should advise the employer of the local rates of pay for the job and that their vacancy may be difficult to fill.