The minimum wage has been a huge success story since its introduction in 1999 – but 2025 might be its trickiest year yet. The combination of increases to employer National Insurance and a bigger-than-expected 6.7 per cent rise in the National Living Wage has left businesses warning of jobs cuts and hiring freezes. Previous such warnings haven’t materialised, but with the jobs market already in recession territory, might this year be different? It is amidst this uncertainty and challenging backdrop that the Government will need set out a longer-term plan for the minimum wage. How will employers respond to the significant minimum wage uprating combined with the rise in employers NICs? What might be the wider effects of raising the labour costs of low-paid work? How should the new Government build on the 25-year success of the minimum wage over this Parliament? And how does this align with its wider plans for good jobs, stronger growth and rising living standards? The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new RF research assessing the future of the minimum wage, we will hear from leading experts on what this means for workers, businesses and government policy going forwards. The event will be open for people to physically attend, alongside being broadcast via YouTube and the Resolution Foundation website. Viewers will be able to submit questions to the panel before and during the event via Slido.
