Question

To ask Her Majesty’s Government (1) whether they will list the categories of employed people who are not remunerated, including Ministers, who are exempted from the provisions of the minimum wage legislation, and (2) whether unpaid Ministers will qualify for the proposed living wage.

Certain exemptions to qualification to the National Minimum Wage apply through Part 6 (Exclusions) of the National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015[1]. The noble Lord will find a list of those exempted from the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 on the Gov.uk webpage https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage/who-gets-the-minimum-wage.

Ministers are generally classified as ‘office holders’ who are neither workers nor employees, except where the individual also holds an employment contract with the same company or organisation that meets the criteria for employees. Where a Minister meets this criteria and is classed as a worker under the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 (https://www.gov.uk/employment-status/worker), they will be entitled to the National Minimum Wage and the new National Living Wage once implemented in April 2016.

[1] http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2015/9780111127964/pdfs/ukdsi_9780111127964_en.pdf