The proportion of low-paid workers in Britain has fallen to its lowest level since 1980, and low pay could be eliminated altogether by the middle of the 2020s, according to new research.
The introduction of the National Living Wage (NLW) in April 2016 has significantly reduced low pay – from 20.7 per cent of the workforce in 2015 down to 17.1 per cent last year, the Resolution Foundation found.
Last year, almost 200,000 people moved out of low pay, defined as earning less than two thirds of the median wage. Administrative jobs, support services, and retail saw the largest fall in the numbers of workers on low pay.
A record two million workers – 7.3 per cent of the population – now receive the legal minimum wage.
Despite warnings from business groups, a significant ramping up of the minimum wage level has taken place without any significant negative impacts on jobs, the Resolution Foundation said.
1/50 29 May 2019
The Red Arrows in the Apollo formation while performing a full display at Chalkoutsi, Greece. The aerobatic display team have been granted formal approval on Wednesday to perform for audiences, known as Public Display Authority (PDA), to mark the official start of the Red Arrows’ 55th display season
Cpl Ashley Keates/PA
2/50 28 May 2019
British Environment Secretary Michael Gove returns to his home following a run in London.
EPA
3/50 27 May 2019
Participants throw themselves down Cooper’s Hill for the annual cheese rolling in Brockworth, Gloucestershire
PA
4/50 26 May 2019
Jason Pearce and Chris Solly lift the League One play-off trophy following Charlton’s victory against Sunderland. They will be promoted to the Championship after three years in the third tier
Getty Images
5/50 25 May 2019
Giant kites are flown by expert kite flyers during the English Heritage Kite Festival at Scarborough Castle in North Yorkshire
PA
6/50 24 May 2019
Prime Minister Theresa May reacts as she announces her resignation in London
Reuters
7/50 23 May 2019
A horse stands outside a polling station, set up in a pub, as it’s rider votes in the European Parliament elections, near Tonbridge, south east England. Voting got under way in Britain early on Thursday in elections to the European Parliament – a contest the country had not expected to hold nearly three years after the Brexit referendum
AFP/Getty
8/50 22 May 2019
Larry the cat sits in the street, at Downing Street in London
Reuters
9/50 21 May 2019
Kent make their way to the field to open the fielding on day two of the Specsavers County Championship Division One match between Kent and Surrey in Beckenham, England
Getty
10/50 20 May 2019
Karamoja the 12 day old baby Rothschild’s Giraffe pictured with its mother Orla takes its first steps outside at Chester Zoo
PA
11/50 19 May 2019
AFC Fylde celebrate after they beat Leyton Orient to win the FA Trophy Final at Wembley Stadium
Action/Reuters
12/50 18 May 2019
Great Britain’s Jade Jones celebrates with her gold medal after victory against South Korea’s Lee Ah-Reum in the final of the womens -57kg during day 3 of the World Taekwondo Championships at Manchester Arena
Getty
13/50 17 May 2019
Lulu (left) and Gulliver, two green sea turtles, are reunited after 8 months apart at Sea Life in Brighton
PA
14/50 16 May 2019
Children jump between balls in the new Children’s Garden at Kew Gardens
PA
15/50 15 May 2019
The London Fire Brigade said 10 fire engines and 70 firefighters had to tackle a blaze at a commercial building on the North Circular in Neasden, north London
London Fire Brigade/PA
16/50 14 May 2019
Conservator Restorer Jim Mitchell with part of the bronze statue of William Wallace which is being returned to the National Monument in Stirling after undergoing vital restoration work. After the statue was carefully removed in sections from the tower for the first time since its unveiling in 1887, Wallace travelled down south to Wigan-based firm, Lost Art, to begin the process of restoration. Stirling Council has invested an estimated £260,000 in the project to ensure the structure is back in peak condition ahead of the Wallace MonumentÕs 150th anniversary celebrations in September.
PA
17/50 13 May 2019
The sun rises behind The Shard and the financial district as a cyclist rides through Richmond Park in London, Britain.
Reuters
18/50 12 May 2019
Vincent Kompany lifts the Premier League trophy after Manchester City’s 4-1 victory against Brighton and Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium. Manchester City held off a titanic challenge from Liverpool to become the first side in a decade to retain the Premier League
AFP/Getty
19/50 11 May 2019
Arsenal celebrate winning the Women’s Super League after beating Manchester City at Meadow Park. They secured the title the previous weekend and today’s victory means Arsenal won the league by seven points
Action/Reuters
20/50 10 May 2019
The Flying Scotsman steam train crosses the Forth Bridge on its way from Edinburgh to Inverness
PA
21/50 9 May 2019
Will Smith attending the Aladdin European Premiere held at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square, London
PA
22/50 8 May 2019
Tributes laid around the Billy McNeill statue at Celtic Park ahead of ex-player Stevie Chalmers’ funeral
PA
23/50 7 May 2019
A Tyrannosaurus animatronic model is wheeled through Chester Zoo after arriving from America. It is one of thirteen enormous animatronic predators which have been created for Chester zoo in Texas, ahead of the opening of a world first exhibition into 200 million years of lost species
PA
24/50 6 May 2019
Norwich City’s Grant Hanley holds the Championship trophy aloft as he celebrates with the crowd during their promotion parade in Norwich City Centre
PA
25/50 5 May 2019
Team Ineos lead the peloton including leader Chris Lawless as they climb a hill in Haworth, during stage four of the Tour de Yorkshire
PA
26/50 4 May 2019
Waves crash over the sea wall at Tynemouth in the north east of England. The UK is expected to be hit with cold showers, frost and strong winds across the bank holiday weekend just weeks after record-high temperatures at Easter.
PA
27/50 3 May 2019
Leader of the Liberal Democrats Vince Cable addresses the media with activists outside Chelmsford City Council Civic Centre. In local election results, the Liberal Democrats – who oppose Brexit, gained 26 seats giving them control of Chelmsford City Council in Essex, a Brexit stronghold. The two main parties, Labour and the Conservatives, lost seats. This is believed to be attributed to frustration at the lack of progress in the continuing Brexit negotiations
Getty
28/50 2 May 2019
Whipsnade Zoo’s new baby giraffe, Khari, with his mother Luna. The reticulated giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) was born to first time mum Luna and dad Bashu at midday on April 26, and his name, Khari, means ‘King-like’ in Swahili, because of his regal-looking ossicones – the tiny crown-like horns on a giraffe’s head. Giraffe calves weigh more than the twenty times the average 7lbs human when they’re born, weighing in at around 150lbs at birth
Whipsnade Zoo/PA
29/50 1 May 2019
Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange, in a prison van, as he leaves Southwark Crown Court in London. He was sentenced to 50 week in prison for breaching his bail conditions. Assange was found guilty of breaching the Bail Act in April after his arrest after spending seven years in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London
EPA
30/50 30 April 2019
Coco, aged 11, runs through 181 pairs of wellies, as they go on display to represent the average number of people rescued by The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) every week in the UK and Ireland at Potters Fields Park in London. There are 4,900 volunteer crew members supporting 238 lifeboat stations. RNLI’s annual Mayday fundraising campaign aims to raise £700,000 to fund lifesaving kit. Following the campaign, the yellow wellies from the installation will be available to purchase, in exchange for a small donation
PA
31/50 29 April 2019
Buster the Golden Retriever, belonging to David Torrance MSP, at this year’s Holyrood Dog of the Year competition, organised jointly by Dogs Trust and the Kennel Club at the Scottish Parliament Gardens in Edinburgh.
PA
32/50 28 April 2019
Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk poses with his PFA Player of the Year award
PA
33/50 27 April 2019
Cyclists lay down as they take part in the Extinction Rebellion protest at the Tate Modern in London, Britain
REUTERS
34/50 26 April 2019
Liberal Democratic Party leader Vince Cable speaks at a launch event for the party’s candidates for the European Parliament election in London
AFP/Getty
35/50 25 April 2019
Extinction Rebellion protesters (left to right) Alan Heath, 55, research scientist, Jen Witts, 38, support worker for vulnerable people, Sian Vaughan 53, retired head teacher, Debbie Rees, 57, Gardener and artist, Kef Shimidzu, 55, tutor and learning support worker, Lucy Galvin, 53, civil servant and Johnny Woon, 60, retired, glued themselves to the entrances of the London Stock Exchange in the City of London
PA
36/50 24 April 2019
Engineers from the Canal and River Trust repair a leak at the base of a deep 200 year old, Grade II listed lock in Gloucester, where the tidal River Severn meets Gloucester Docks in the city and a specially manufactured steel dam is now holding back the river water, with more than 100 tonnes of accumulated silt being removed from the damaged area of the lock so that the team can undertake repairs
PA
37/50 23 April 2019
Amateur James Cahill celebrates beating snooker world number one, Ronnie O’Sullivan, in the first round of the World Championship. In arguably the biggest shock in the tournament’s history, Cahill held his nerve to beat five-time champion O’Sullivan 10-8 at the Crucible
PA
38/50 22 April 2019
Extinction Rebellion climate change activists perform a mass “die in” under the blue whale in the foyer of the Natural History Museum in London, on the eighth day of the environmental group’s protest calling for political change to combat climate change. Some 963 arrests have been made and 42 people charged in connection with the ongoing protests
AFP/Getty
39/50 21 April 2019
Firefighters tackle a large fire on Ilkley Moor in West Yorkshire
PA
40/50 20 April 2019
Police officers remove a potted plant that was placed in the occupation of Waterloo Bridge in London by Extinction Rebellion protesters
EPA
41/50 19 April 2019
British actress Emma Thompson gives an address from the stage atop the pink boat to climate change activists occupying the road junction at Oxford Circus in central London during the fifth day of environmental protests by the Extinction Rebellion group
AFP/Getty
42/50 18 April 2019
A burning car in Creggan, Londonderry after petrol bombs were thrown at police. Belfast Journalist Lyra McKee was killed during the riots. Police Service of Northern Ireland said that McKee was allegedly shot while reporting on clashes with dissident republican rioters
PA
43/50 17 April 2019
Members of the so called ‘Red Brigade’ march in disobedience on the street from Oxford Circus to Piccadilly Circus to protest in London. The group Extinction Rebellion is calling for a week of civil disobedience against what it says is the failure to tackle the causes of climate change
AP
44/50 16 April 2019
Extinction Rebellion demonstrators camp near Marble Arch, London, as more than 100 people have been arrested as police deal with ongoing climate change protests
PA
45/50 15 April 2019
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn tries his hand at archery during a visit to Sunnyvale Fishery and Outdoor Activity centre, a youth crime reduction project in Calderdale
PA
46/50 14 April 2019
A woman photographs blossoming tulips in Holland Park
PA
47/50 13 April 2019
Lincoln City’s Bruno Andrade (left) and Shay McCartan celebrate being promoted after their Sky Bet League Two match at Sincil Bank, Lincoln
PA
48/50 12 April 2019
Supporters march during the YouthStrike4Climate demonstration in central London
AFP/Getty
49/50 11 April 2019
The Milky Way and millions of stars over Dinstanburgh Castle in the early hours of the morning. Dunstanburgh Castle is a 14th-century fortification on the coast of Northumberland in northern England, between the villages of Craster and Embleton. The castle was built by Earl Thomas of Lancaster between 1313 and 1322
PA
50/50 10 April 2019
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May react during an extraordinary European Union leaders summit to discuss Brexit, in Brussels
Reuters
1/50 29 May 2019
The Red Arrows in the Apollo formation while performing a full display at Chalkoutsi, Greece. The aerobatic display team have been granted formal approval on Wednesday to perform for audiences, known as Public Display Authority (PDA), to mark the official start of the Red Arrows’ 55th display season
Cpl Ashley Keates/PA
2/50 28 May 2019
British Environment Secretary Michael Gove returns to his home following a run in London.
EPA
3/50 27 May 2019
Participants throw themselves down Cooper’s Hill for the annual cheese rolling in Brockworth, Gloucestershire
PA
4/50 26 May 2019
Jason Pearce and Chris Solly lift the League One play-off trophy following Charlton’s victory against Sunderland. They will be promoted to the Championship after three years in the third tier
Getty Images
5/50 25 May 2019
Giant kites are flown by expert kite flyers during the English Heritage Kite Festival at Scarborough Castle in North Yorkshire
PA
6/50 24 May 2019
Prime Minister Theresa May reacts as she announces her resignation in London
Reuters
7/50 23 May 2019
A horse stands outside a polling station, set up in a pub, as it’s rider votes in the European Parliament elections, near Tonbridge, south east England. Voting got under way in Britain early on Thursday in elections to the European Parliament – a contest the country had not expected to hold nearly three years after the Brexit referendum
AFP/Getty
8/50 22 May 2019
Larry the cat sits in the street, at Downing Street in London
Reuters
9/50 21 May 2019
Kent make their way to the field to open the fielding on day two of the Specsavers County Championship Division One match between Kent and Surrey in Beckenham, England
Getty
10/50 20 May 2019
Karamoja the 12 day old baby Rothschild’s Giraffe pictured with its mother Orla takes its first steps outside at Chester Zoo
PA
11/50 19 May 2019
AFC Fylde celebrate after they beat Leyton Orient to win the FA Trophy Final at Wembley Stadium
Action/Reuters
12/50 18 May 2019
Great Britain’s Jade Jones celebrates with her gold medal after victory against South Korea’s Lee Ah-Reum in the final of the womens -57kg during day 3 of the World Taekwondo Championships at Manchester Arena
Getty
13/50 17 May 2019
Lulu (left) and Gulliver, two green sea turtles, are reunited after 8 months apart at Sea Life in Brighton
PA
14/50 16 May 2019
Children jump between balls in the new Children’s Garden at Kew Gardens
PA
15/50 15 May 2019
The London Fire Brigade said 10 fire engines and 70 firefighters had to tackle a blaze at a commercial building on the North Circular in Neasden, north London
London Fire Brigade/PA
16/50 14 May 2019
Conservator Restorer Jim Mitchell with part of the bronze statue of William Wallace which is being returned to the National Monument in Stirling after undergoing vital restoration work. After the statue was carefully removed in sections from the tower for the first time since its unveiling in 1887, Wallace travelled down south to Wigan-based firm, Lost Art, to begin the process of restoration. Stirling Council has invested an estimated £260,000 in the project to ensure the structure is back in peak condition ahead of the Wallace MonumentÕs 150th anniversary celebrations in September.
PA
17/50 13 May 2019
The sun rises behind The Shard and the financial district as a cyclist rides through Richmond Park in London, Britain.
Reuters
18/50 12 May 2019
Vincent Kompany lifts the Premier League trophy after Manchester City’s 4-1 victory against Brighton and Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium. Manchester City held off a titanic challenge from Liverpool to become the first side in a decade to retain the Premier League
AFP/Getty
19/50 11 May 2019
Arsenal celebrate winning the Women’s Super League after beating Manchester City at Meadow Park. They secured the title the previous weekend and today’s victory means Arsenal won the league by seven points
Action/Reuters
20/50 10 May 2019
The Flying Scotsman steam train crosses the Forth Bridge on its way from Edinburgh to Inverness
PA
21/50 9 May 2019
Will Smith attending the Aladdin European Premiere held at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square, London
PA
22/50 8 May 2019
Tributes laid around the Billy McNeill statue at Celtic Park ahead of ex-player Stevie Chalmers’ funeral
PA
23/50 7 May 2019
A Tyrannosaurus animatronic model is wheeled through Chester Zoo after arriving from America. It is one of thirteen enormous animatronic predators which have been created for Chester zoo in Texas, ahead of the opening of a world first exhibition into 200 million years of lost species
PA
24/50 6 May 2019
Norwich City’s Grant Hanley holds the Championship trophy aloft as he celebrates with the crowd during their promotion parade in Norwich City Centre
PA
25/50 5 May 2019
Team Ineos lead the peloton including leader Chris Lawless as they climb a hill in Haworth, during stage four of the Tour de Yorkshire
PA
26/50 4 May 2019
Waves crash over the sea wall at Tynemouth in the north east of England. The UK is expected to be hit with cold showers, frost and strong winds across the bank holiday weekend just weeks after record-high temperatures at Easter.
PA
27/50 3 May 2019
Leader of the Liberal Democrats Vince Cable addresses the media with activists outside Chelmsford City Council Civic Centre. In local election results, the Liberal Democrats – who oppose Brexit, gained 26 seats giving them control of Chelmsford City Council in Essex, a Brexit stronghold. The two main parties, Labour and the Conservatives, lost seats. This is believed to be attributed to frustration at the lack of progress in the continuing Brexit negotiations
Getty
28/50 2 May 2019
Whipsnade Zoo’s new baby giraffe, Khari, with his mother Luna. The reticulated giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) was born to first time mum Luna and dad Bashu at midday on April 26, and his name, Khari, means ‘King-like’ in Swahili, because of his regal-looking ossicones – the tiny crown-like horns on a giraffe’s head. Giraffe calves weigh more than the twenty times the average 7lbs human when they’re born, weighing in at around 150lbs at birth
Whipsnade Zoo/PA
29/50 1 May 2019
Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange, in a prison van, as he leaves Southwark Crown Court in London. He was sentenced to 50 week in prison for breaching his bail conditions. Assange was found guilty of breaching the Bail Act in April after his arrest after spending seven years in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London
EPA
30/50 30 April 2019
Coco, aged 11, runs through 181 pairs of wellies, as they go on display to represent the average number of people rescued by The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) every week in the UK and Ireland at Potters Fields Park in London. There are 4,900 volunteer crew members supporting 238 lifeboat stations. RNLI’s annual Mayday fundraising campaign aims to raise £700,000 to fund lifesaving kit. Following the campaign, the yellow wellies from the installation will be available to purchase, in exchange for a small donation
PA
31/50 29 April 2019
Buster the Golden Retriever, belonging to David Torrance MSP, at this year’s Holyrood Dog of the Year competition, organised jointly by Dogs Trust and the Kennel Club at the Scottish Parliament Gardens in Edinburgh.
PA
32/50 28 April 2019
Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk poses with his PFA Player of the Year award
PA
33/50 27 April 2019
Cyclists lay down as they take part in the Extinction Rebellion protest at the Tate Modern in London, Britain
REUTERS
34/50 26 April 2019
Liberal Democratic Party leader Vince Cable speaks at a launch event for the party’s candidates for the European Parliament election in London
AFP/Getty
35/50 25 April 2019
Extinction Rebellion protesters (left to right) Alan Heath, 55, research scientist, Jen Witts, 38, support worker for vulnerable people, Sian Vaughan 53, retired head teacher, Debbie Rees, 57, Gardener and artist, Kef Shimidzu, 55, tutor and learning support worker, Lucy Galvin, 53, civil servant and Johnny Woon, 60, retired, glued themselves to the entrances of the London Stock Exchange in the City of London
PA
36/50 24 April 2019
Engineers from the Canal and River Trust repair a leak at the base of a deep 200 year old, Grade II listed lock in Gloucester, where the tidal River Severn meets Gloucester Docks in the city and a specially manufactured steel dam is now holding back the river water, with more than 100 tonnes of accumulated silt being removed from the damaged area of the lock so that the team can undertake repairs
PA
37/50 23 April 2019
Amateur James Cahill celebrates beating snooker world number one, Ronnie O’Sullivan, in the first round of the World Championship. In arguably the biggest shock in the tournament’s history, Cahill held his nerve to beat five-time champion O’Sullivan 10-8 at the Crucible
PA
38/50 22 April 2019
Extinction Rebellion climate change activists perform a mass “die in” under the blue whale in the foyer of the Natural History Museum in London, on the eighth day of the environmental group’s protest calling for political change to combat climate change. Some 963 arrests have been made and 42 people charged in connection with the ongoing protests
AFP/Getty
39/50 21 April 2019
Firefighters tackle a large fire on Ilkley Moor in West Yorkshire
PA
40/50 20 April 2019
Police officers remove a potted plant that was placed in the occupation of Waterloo Bridge in London by Extinction Rebellion protesters
EPA
41/50 19 April 2019
British actress Emma Thompson gives an address from the stage atop the pink boat to climate change activists occupying the road junction at Oxford Circus in central London during the fifth day of environmental protests by the Extinction Rebellion group
AFP/Getty
42/50 18 April 2019
A burning car in Creggan, Londonderry after petrol bombs were thrown at police. Belfast Journalist Lyra McKee was killed during the riots. Police Service of Northern Ireland said that McKee was allegedly shot while reporting on clashes with dissident republican rioters
PA
43/50 17 April 2019
Members of the so called ‘Red Brigade’ march in disobedience on the street from Oxford Circus to Piccadilly Circus to protest in London. The group Extinction Rebellion is calling for a week of civil disobedience against what it says is the failure to tackle the causes of climate change
AP
44/50 16 April 2019
Extinction Rebellion demonstrators camp near Marble Arch, London, as more than 100 people have been arrested as police deal with ongoing climate change protests
PA
45/50 15 April 2019
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn tries his hand at archery during a visit to Sunnyvale Fishery and Outdoor Activity centre, a youth crime reduction project in Calderdale
PA
46/50 14 April 2019
A woman photographs blossoming tulips in Holland Park
PA
47/50 13 April 2019
Lincoln City’s Bruno Andrade (left) and Shay McCartan celebrate being promoted after their Sky Bet League Two match at Sincil Bank, Lincoln
PA
48/50 12 April 2019
Supporters march during the YouthStrike4Climate demonstration in central London
AFP/Getty
49/50 11 April 2019
The Milky Way and millions of stars over Dinstanburgh Castle in the early hours of the morning. Dunstanburgh Castle is a 14th-century fortification on the coast of Northumberland in northern England, between the villages of Craster and Embleton. The castle was built by Earl Thomas of Lancaster between 1313 and 1322
PA
50/50 10 April 2019
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May react during an extraordinary European Union leaders summit to discuss Brexit, in Brussels
Reuters
UK employment is at a record high, and recent jobs growth has been fastest among groups who are disproportionately likely to be on the minimum wage, such as those with fewer qualifications.
New analysis also shows that there is no evidence that recent falls in average hours worked by lower earners are being driven by increases to the NLW.
The foundation calls for an “end to low pay” by setting the minimum wage rate at two-thirds of median hourly earnings for workers aged 25 and over.
The report claims that raising the minimum wage this high would transform the labour market, and give the UK the fifth highest minimum wage of all advanced economies.
The government should therefore move cautiously towards meeting this target and be prepared to adjust the NLW in light of changing economic conditions, and the Low Pay Commission should continue to play a key role in looking for any emerging evidence of negative impacts.
Nye Cominetti, Economic Analyst at the Resolution Foundation, said: “The National Living Wage has transformed Britain’s low pay landscape, with the number of low-paid workers falling by 200,000 in the last year alone. Women and young people have been the main beneficiaries of a higher minimum wage, whose ratcheting up has not stopped employment rising to a record high.
“It’s great that both main parties want to go even further on raising the minimum wage and eliminate low pay altogether. But such an ambitious move would transform the labour market, and must therefore be approached boldly but cautiously.
“An ambitious but cautious approach that saw the National Living Wage continue to rise after 2020 – at a faster pace than the minimum wage has increased over its 20 year history ¬– would put Britain on course to eliminate low pay in the middle of the 2020s, while still giving the government room for manoeuvre if economic conditions change.”
