Minimum Wage: Where is the Law About a Trainee's Pay?

A person must be an employee¹ in order to be entitled to the minimum wage"(MW).

The Government has announced that the hourly rate of the MW will increase from $8.50 to $10.50 from 1 June 2025. A video of the announcement can be viewed on YouTube.

The Government also agreed to the Minimum Wage Board's recommendation that 85% of the MW should be paid to a person on a recognised training programme that does not exceed three months.

But where is the law that implements the recommendation? Such a law is not mentioned in the Minimum Wage (National and Sectoral Minimum Wage) Order 2025 (SI 2025/55). Is the law mentioned in an amendment to the Minimum Wage Act 2017 or any other labour law? 

Please note that it is unlawful to pay 85% of the MW to an employee¹ - if there is no legal basis for doing so.

Statutory Paternity Leave/Pay

The Family Leave Bill 2005 (dated 28 July 2025) was published after 1 June 2025 - even though the Government announced that statutory paternity leave/pay would come into force on 1 June 2025. See the comments below. 

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1. The definition of an employee can be found in section 2 of the Minimum Wage Act 2017.