Statute of Labourers

Timeline

1. 1349–1350England · EnglandAfter the Black Death, daily wages for agricultural and building labourers in England doubled or more, serfs migrated to towns and neighbouring manors, and landlords and municipal authorities petitioned for wage restrictions, building political pressure for the 1351 legislation.
2. 1351Westminster · Greater LondonIn 1351 Parliament passed an act stipulating that wages in all trades must not exceed 1346 levels, prohibiting workers from leaving employment without cause, requiring employers to hire all willing unemployed persons, with fines and imprisonment for violators, enforced by justices of the peace.
3. 1352–1360England · EnglandThe statute met widespread resistance in local enforcement, with workers and employers often privately agreeing on higher pay. Parliament revised and reaffirmed it in 1352, 1357, and over the following decades, but failed to effectively curb the rising trend of market wages.