UK workers get new minimum wage rates
Over 3 million eligible workers set for a pay rise of up to £1,400 a year as new National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates take effect.
According to the UK Government the pay rise worth an extra £1,400 per year for an eligible full-time worker got delivered from April 1.
The UK government said, “the New rates put more money back into the pockets of working people, boosting productivity and ending low pay.”
It Aso noted that more money to be spent in Britain’s high streets, kickstarting growth as part of the Plan for Change.
“Eligible full-time workers are set for a pay boost of up to £117 from this month thanks to the Government’s increase in the National Living Wage, which comes into effect today.”
The National Living Wage has gone up from £11.44 an hour to £12.21.
The National Living Wage paid to over-21s went up by 6.7% and the National Minimum Wage for 18 to 20-year-olds rose by 16%.
A higher hourly rate called the Real Living Wage, paid voluntarily by some UK businesses to half a million people, has also gone up.
The National Living Wage has applied to employees aged 21 and over since April 2024. Previously, an employee would have to be 23.
The pay rates are set by the government every year on the advice of an independent group, the Low Pay Commission
Younger employees aged between 16 and 20 also received the National Minimum Wage increase.
For 18, 19 and 20 years, the wage rose from £8.60 an hour to £10. The increase which the government said worth £2,500 for an eligible full-time worker.
Young workers in the age bracket 16 and 17 years got the rise from £6.40 an hour to £7.55, an 18% increase.
The UK Government said, “This is the first step towards removing the unfair minimum wage age-bands that see a 21-year-old getting paid more than a 20-year-old for doing the same job”
Already, the UK is second in the G7 in terms of the minimum wage relative to average wages for a full-time worker – ahead of the US, Germany and Japan. This makes it one of the most financially secure countries in the world for workers.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said the pay rise for over 3 million of the lowest paid workers was a priority for the government and “means we’re already giving hard working people more money in their pockets and a proper wage increase worth over twice the rate of inflation.”
According to her, “These changes are part of our Plan for Change – to raise living standards for people across the county, including apprentices and young people, giving them more job security and the huge pay boost they deserve too.”
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, also expressed that, “In the last Parliament, living standards were the worst on record and sky-high inflation was crushing working people’s finances.
“Today we have raised the national minimum and living wages, meaning the lowest paid will receive an annual pay boost of up to £2,500 – something that wouldn’t have happened without my Budget last year.”
She emphasized that, “Making work pay is good for workers, will strengthen businesses’ workforces, and will grow our economy for years to come. It’s a key milestone on my number one mission to get more money in people’s pockets as we deliver our Plan for Change.”
