Living wage increase “four times rate of inflation”

The National Minimum and Living Wage will increase from 01 April 2020, the Government has confirmed.

Under approved plans, the National Living Wage (NLW) – for workers over the age of 25 – will rise by 6.5 per cent from £8.21 to £8.72 per hour.

This represents a rise four times the national rate of inflation, the Government has claimed, handing each full-time worker an additional £930 in income each year.

The rates for under 25s and apprentices, meanwhile, will increase from between 4.6 to 6.4 per cent.

National minimum wage rates from April 2020

Year	25 and over	21 to 24	18 to 20	Under 18	Apprentice
April 2019 (current rate)	£8.21	£7.70	£6.15	£4.35	£3.90
April 2020	£8.72	£8.20	£6.45	£4.55	£4.15

The new rates, recommended by the Low Pay Commission, fall in line with plans to raise the legal minimum wage to two-thirds of median earnings by 2024, which would place wages at around £10.40 per hour.

Commenting on the announcement, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sajid Javid, said: “We want to end low pay and put more money in the pockets of hard-working families. This latest rise will mean that since we introduced the National Living Wage in 2016, the lowest paid will have had a wage increase of more than £3,600.”

Business and Energy Secretary, Andrea Leadsom, added: “We want to make the UK the best place in the world to work and grow a business. Employment is at a record high and as well as investing to meet that ambition, we also want to make sure that people get to keep more of what they earn.”

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