The minimum wage as fair remuneration and the phenomenon of poverty in Poland

Abstract

This article attempts to evaluate the effectiveness of the minimum wage in combating poverty, with particular emphasis on the effectiveness of its influence on the social and occupational groups that should most benefit from its effects, i.e., workers hired based on employment contracts on a full-time basis. The article relates the legally guaranteed income from work to the social minimum and existential minimum, as both these categories have a common nature, i.e., they are normative models of satisfying life needs at a low level and should, therefore, be secured by the level of minimum pay received.