Statute of Labourers 1351

The Statute of Labourers was a labor law that was adopted in 1351 in the English Parliament in response to the wage and price developments. This was King Edward III in the reign. first created a kind of labor legislation.

After the appearance of the plague in the years 1348 and 1349 the landlords were faced with a huge population decline, which had the consequence that the remaining workers raised the demand for higher wages.

The Statute of Labourers was in continuation of the Ordinance of Labourers secure from the year 1349 the landlords providing cheap labor and therefore fixed the wages to the level before the plague. It wage rates have been established for workers, fixed prices on the Vorpestniveau and restricted the mobility of workers.

In addition, the statute put under threat of harsh penalties established that all able-bodied men and women could not be used until age 60 to work ( so that was the first time a distinction between able-bodied and non- able-bodied people ) and banned the breach of contract workers as well as exceeding the salary cap by the landlord.

Special county agents were used to carry out the king, in practice, the statute, however, proved inadequate and enforceable as such was not a success. In the population of the statute was extremely unpopular and contributed to the unrest that accumulated in the kingdom, and finally culminated in the Peasants ' Revolt in 1381.