escalator clause
- noun
- /ˈɛskəˌleɪtər klɔz/
- Jargon
:
cláusula de escalera
- Due to the escalator clause, employees will receive higher salaries if the cost of living index increases significantly.
Examples
-
Thus, if there is an escalator clause in the lease, the tenant could lose the advantage of a fixed rent at a specific amount that a long-term lease supposedly provides (Slonim 1982, p. 24).
Academic text (1991) -
The employment contract included an escalator clause that allowed for automatic wage increases when inflation rose.
-
Many leases now incorporate an escalator clause to ensure rent adjustments reflect changes in the cost of living.
Synonyms
3
4.1
A system where fees or prices change depending on a person's income
1
8.4
A part of a contract that automatically raises pay or benefits when living costs rise
How Automatic
Surface Forms
Morphology
Although 'clause' clearly signals a contractual provision, 'escalator' primarily evokes upward movement (often the moving staircase) rather than the specialized legal sense of automatic index-linked increases. A B1 learner who knows both words may infer that the clause causes increases, but the precise idea of automatic adjustments tied to economic indicators is a domain-specific extension that is not fully predictable without prior exposure.
Etymology
The noun escalator clause comes from the picture of an escalator that carries people up by itself, and a clause in a contract that works the same for pay or rent by raising it when costs go up. That's why it means a rule that makes wages or prices 'increase automatically' with the cost of living.