The UK minimum wage increases today by 30p to £5.35 an hour for adult workers.
This is the seventh annual increase since it was introduced in 1999 at £3.60/hour.
The minimum wage for 18-21 year olds also goes up to £4.45 an hour by 20p, and the rate for 16 and 17 year olds rises to £3.30, an increase of 30p an hour.
Earlier this week, the British Chamber of Commerce stated that the differing rates for workers under 21 could fall foul of age discrimination laws - and that "If this were the subject of a legal challenge, based on the new age law, the government may put the minimum wage rates of the under 21s up to the same level as the over 21s."
As the increases were announced, the CBI called for a "more modest" rise in 2007, while the BBC estimated that 170,000 people are illegally paid less than minimum wage by employers ignoring the legislation.
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