Legal Nature of the Minimum Wage

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the legal nature of the minimum wage in the light of international, European and Polish regulations. Author refers to the legal acts of the United Nations, the International Labour Organization and the Council of Europe, as well as to EU law, including the directive No. 2022/2041 on adequate minimum wages in the European Union. She also refers to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland and statutory provisions. Against this background, she characterizes the essence of the minimum wage and determines its relation to fair wage and decent wage. She considers the features of the minimum wage, with particular attention to mutuality and equivalence of work and minimum wage.