The Statute of Labourers was a law enacted by the English parliament under King Edward III in 1351 in response to a labour shortage, designed to stabilize the labor force by prohibiting increases in wages and prohibiting the movement of workers from their home areas in search of improved conditions.[1] It was introduced by John Hale.
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The Black Death or Bubonic Plague, which killed more than one-third of the population of Europe (mostly peasants around that time), caused a dramatic decrease in the supply of labour. Landowners suddenly faced a sharp increase in competition for workers to work for them. Labourers had increased bargaining power and commanded higher wages. The increase in labour cost also led to inflation throughout the economy.
The elite class lamented the sudden shift in economic power. In an attempt to control labour costs and price levels, Edward III issued the Ordinance of Labourers in 1349. Parliament attempted to reinforce the Ordinance with the Statute of Labourers.
The statute set a maximum wage for labourers that was commensurate to wages paid before the Black Death, specifically, in the year 1346. These changes, however, failed to take into account the changing economic conditions during the Black Death, and furthermore the period from which wage levels were taken was one of economic depression in England as a result of The Hundred Years' War. Therefore, wages during the Black Death were set even lower to match those during this depression. It also mandated that able-bodied men and women work, and imposed harsh penalties for those who remained idle. In practice, the statute was poorly enforced and unsuccessful, but it set a precedent that distinguished between labourers who were "able in body" to work and those who could not work for whatever reasons.This distinction resurfaced in later laws regarding poverty.
The Ordinance of Labourers and Statute of Labourers were, of course, very unpopular with the peasants, who wanted higher wages and better living standards, and was a contributing factor to subsequent peasant revolts, most notably the English peasants' revolt of 1381. Similar processes happened throughout Europe—wage caps following a labour shortage after the Black Death resulting in popular revolts.
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