“Good News for Young Workers!”

Nearly 3 million low-paid workers will receive a pay increase of almost 10% next spring after the chancellor announced an increase in the national living wage to £11.44 an hour.

The chancellor, Jeremy Hunt accepted in full the recommendation of the LPC – the body set up to advise ministers on the level of the national legal minimum wage – by announcing the largest ever cash increase in the low pay floor.

Upcoming wage changes:

• The increase from £10.42 to £11.44 comes against a backdrop of a cost of living crisis in which inflation peaked at 11.1% – the highest in 40 years.
• Eligibility for the national living wage (NLW) will also be extended by reducing the age threshold from 23 to 21.
• According to the Treasury, a 21-year-old will get a 12.4% increase, from £10.18 this year to £11.44 next year, worth almost £2,300 a year for a full-time worker.
• National minimum wage rates for younger workers will also increase, with those aged between 18 and 20 getting a wage boost to £8.60 an hour – a £1.11 hourly pay rise.

“Good News for Young Workers!”

The NLW was introduced in 2016 and currently sets the minimum hourly pay for those over 23. This is good news for your workers. The news was welcomed by the TUC and was hailed by Conservatives, as a demonstration of their ability to deliver on their previous pledges to increase standards of living for low paid workers. However, many small businesses will now be reflecting on how they can meet these increased costs in a demanding economy with constrained profit margins.

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