A
BILL
TO
Enable the national minimum wage to be varied to reflect local labour market
conditions; and for connected purposes.
Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and
consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present
Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
1 Low Pay Commission inquiry
The Low Pay Commission must consider and take evidence on the availability
of employment opportunities and the impact of the national minimum wage
on job creation and access to employment in all travel to work areas where the
5average level of unemployment in the preceding year has been above the
national average, and must consider in the light of that assessment whether to
recommend that the minimum wage in any such area should be set at a level
below the national minimum wage.
2 Duties of Secretary of State
(1)
10If the Low Pay Commission, following an inquiry conducted under section 1,
recommends that the minimum wage operating in any area comprising one or
more travel to work areas should be set at a level below the national minimum
wage, the Secretary of State must make regulations to bring the
recommendation into effect.
(2)
15The regulations must be made by statutory instrument and are subject to
annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
(3)
The Secretary of State must lay the regulations before Parliament within a
period of 3 months beginning with the day on which the Low Pay Commission
makes its recommendation.
(4)
20The regulations may include provision amending, repealing, revoking or
disapplying existing statutory provision (whenever passed or made).
Minimum Wage (Amendment) BillPage 2
3 Existing contracts of employment
A decision to set a minimum wage in any area comprising one or more travel
to work areas below the national minimum wage must not affect existing
contracts of employment.
4 5Interpretation
In this Act a “travel to work area” is an area so defined by the Office for
National Statistics.
5 Financial provisions
There shall be paid out of money provided by Parliament—
(a)
10any expenditure incurred under or by virtue of this Act by a Minister of the
Crown or by a government department, and
(b)
any increase attributable to this Act in the sums payable under any other Act
out of money so provided.
6 Commencement, short title and extent
(1) 15This Act comes into force on the day on which it is passed.
(2) This Act may be cited as the Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act 2011.
(3) This Act extends to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.