The UK minimum wage will go up by almost 10% from April next year and will also be extended to workers aged 21 and 22.
In the biggest ever increase to the National Living Wage, the hourly rate will rise from £10.42 to £11.44 an hour. This means that a full-time worker will receive a pay rise worth more than £1,800 a year.
The Treasury also said that the age threshold for eligibility will be reduced to 21-year-olds for the first time. Eliminating the lower rate for workers aged 21 and 22, which currently stands at £10.18, will increase these employees’ pay by 12.4% and the increase will be worth almost £2,300 a year for a full-time worker.
National Minimum Wage rates for younger workers will also increase. Those aged 18-20 will get £1.11 extra per hour, from £7.49 to £8.60, and the minimum hourly wage for apprentices will rise by over 20%, going from £5.28 to £6.40 an hour.
The UK government accepted in full the Low Pay Commission’s recommendations on minimum wage rates to apply from April 2024.
At least 1.7 million workers across the country will benefit from the increase, according to the Resolution Foundation think tank.
The new rates will achieve the government target of lifting the National Living Wage to two-thirds of median earnings by 2024.
