Why does 5% minimum wage rise matter to you?

This week the Manx parliament approved measures to increase the Isle of Man's national minimum wage by 5% from April, 4.9% less than previously promised.

Despite this the hike will make the lowest paid on the island, the highest paid people on minimum wage in the British Isles, at £12.86 an hour.

But why does that figure matter, what difference will it make to you, and how will it effect Manx business?

We break down what the changes are, why they have been made, and what impact it will have on industry.

The decision to raise the salary by 5% was as a result of a previous commitment to align the minimum wage with the living wage.

But that decision was overhauled in July last year when Tynwald members agreed to pair the wage with 66% of the island's median earnings instead.

As a result, parliamentarians agreed in October on a 9.9% hike to the wage, setting it to £13.46 an hour.

But after a unexpected cabinet reshuffle in January, the chief minister responded to criticism from the business sector about the impact of such a large rise.

In turn Alfred Cannan committed to reducing the rise from 9.9% to 5% - a move approved in Tynwald this week.

The increase comes into effect from 1 April at the start of the new financial year.

The figure sits comfortably higher than neighbouring jurisdictions, in large part due to the island's higher cost of living.

It means for workers of any age working full time on the salary will receive hundreds more each year for their efforts.

But some ages benefit compared to their UK and Ireland counterparts more than others.

On the island a full-time adult worker is anyone over 18 and they will earn £12.86 an hour, which equates to £23,405.20 a year.

In the UK the hourly rate from April is £12.71 for adults over 21, leaving workers with £23,132.20 a year.

In Ireland the wage is £12.36 and an adult is anyone over 21, and they would earn £22,495.20 a year.

For workers between 18 and 20 in the UK and Ireland, the disparity widens.

In the UK this age bracket are to receive £10.85 an hour, or £19,747 for a full time annual salary.

In Ireland a 19-year-old receives £11.13 an hour, which is £20,256.60 a year, and an 18-year-old gets £9.89 an hour, a yearly full time take home of £17,999.80.

It means an 18-year-old on the Isle of Man working full time would still receive £23,405.20 where counterparts in the UK and Ireland receive a minimum of £3,000 less each year.

But the largest difference is seen in under 18s.

On the island children can receive £10.16 an hour, compared to £8 an hour in the UK and £8.66 an hour in Ireland.

From the latest Average Earnings Survey in 2024, with the 2025 consultation currently underway, figures indicated that 1.9% of the population earned the minimum wage.

At the last census there were an estimated 84,523 people living on the island, meaning the number of people on minimum wage is about 1,606.

The number of people on minimum wage has increased from 2023 by 0.3% but has fluctuated up and down since 2015 largely due to the high turnover of staff working in hospitality and retail.

As a minimum wage worker the plain difference will be seen each week or month in their pay cheques, with an extra 61 pence an hour to their names.

And while welcome, many may be irked the amount is not the extra £1.21 an hour previously planned, in line with a 9.9% increase to £13.46.

But the island's Chamber of Commerce, welcoming the revised 5% figure, said the 9.9% hike "instead of helping low‑paid workers" would have "led to many of them losing their jobs".

It added that the new "realistic and reasonable" rate would "help workers and employers to cope with rising costs".

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