Minimum wage for 23 year-olds to rise to £9.50 an hour
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-59038076
Workers on the minimum wage are set to get a pay boost from April, with the rate for those aged over 23 rising to £9.50 an hour from £8.91.
The rise means a full-time worker will get £1,074 extra a year before tax.
The move will be announced at this week’s Budget and follows the recommendation of independent advisers, the Low Pay Commission.
The government has faced pressure to help low-paid, younger workers, who are among the worst hit by the pandemic.
The 6.6% increase in the minimum pay rate for those aged over 23 – known as the National Living Wage – is more than twice the current 3.1% rise in the cost of living.
Minimum pay rates for younger workers are also set to go up.
The National Minimum Wage for people aged 21-22 will rise from £8.36 to £9.18 an hour and the Apprentice Rate will increase from £4.30 to £4.81 an hour.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said the rise “ensures we’re making work pay and keeps us on track to meet our target to end low pay by the end of this Parliament”.
But Labour’s shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, Bridget Phillipson, described it as an “underwhelming offer” that would be mostly swallowed up by tax rises, universal credit cuts and higher energy bills.