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The Statute of Labourers was a law created by the English Parliament under King Edward III in 1351 in response to a labour shortage, which aimed at regulating the labour force by prohibiting requesting or offering a wage higher than pre-Plague standards and limiting movement in search of better conditions. [1]
Hiring fairs, also called statute or mop fairs, were regular events in pre-modern Great Britain and Ireland where labourers were hired for fixed terms. [1] They date from the time of Edward III, and his attempt to regulate the labour market by the Statute of Labourers in 1351 at a time of a serious national shortage of labour after the Black Death.
Despite the English parliament's attempt to reinforce the ordinance with the Statute of Labourers of 1351, workers continued to command higher wages and the majority of England (those in the labouring class) enjoyed a century of relative prosperity before the ratio of labour to land restored the pre-plague levels of wages and prices.
January 14 – Edward III of England institutes the Treason Act 1351, defining treason in English law.It remains unrepealed into the 21st century. [1] [2]February – The Statute of Labourers is enacted by the Parliament of England, to deal with a labour shortage caused by the Black Death.
1351. 14 January – Parliament passes the Treason Act, codifying and curtailing the offence. [2] February – Statute of Labourers enacted to fix labour costs at 1346 levels due to the increases caused by the Black Death. [3]
Perhaps the best-known piece of legislation passed was the Statute of Labourers of 1351, which addressed the labour shortage problem caused by the Black Death. The statute fixed wages at their pre-plague level and checked peasant mobility by asserting that lords had the first claim on their men's services.
Statute of Labourers Statute of Treasons Sir William de Shareshull KB (1289/1290–1370) was an English lawyer and Chief Justice of the King's Bench from 26 October 1350 to 5 July 1361.
Wages for labourers rose, and this forced up prices across the economy as goods became more expensive to produce. [12] An attempt to rein in prices, the ordinance (and subsequent acts, such the Statute of Labourers of 1351) required that everyone who could work did; that wages were kept at pre-plague levels; and that food was not overpriced. [13]