[UK] Chancellor confirms minimum wage will rise to £11.44

UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced that the nation’s minimum wage is set to increase by more than a pound to £11.44 per hour from April 2024, Metro reports.

The UK’s National Living wage is currently £10.42 an hour for workers over 23, while the minimum wage for those aged 21 and 22 is £10.18. However, during the Autumn statement, the Chancellor announced that everyone aged 21 and over will be eligible to receive the new Living Wage of £11.44.

In addition, rates for apprentices will reportedly rise, with an uplift from £5.28 to £6.40 per hour. The significant rise comes as the Conservative party aims to ‘tackle low pay’ by lifting the living wage to two-thirds of average earnings.

Mr Hunt said the increase will see a full-time worker aged 21 receive an annual pay rise of almost £2,300, a hike of around 30 per cent.

The Chancellor described the changes as “the largest ever cash increase in the national living wage, worth up to £1,800 for a full-time worker”.

He said, “Since the national living wage has been introduced, the proportion of people on low pay, defined as earning less than two-thirds of national median hourly income, has halved.

“But at the new rate of £11.44 an hour it delivers our manifesto commitment to eliminate low pay altogether.

“That means by next year someone working full-time on the national living wage will see their real take-home after-tax pay go up not by 25% but by 30% compared to 2010.”

Source: Metro

(Quotes via original reporting)

UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced that the nation’s minimum wage is set to increase by more than a pound to £11.44 per hour from April 2024, Metro reports.

The UK’s National Living wage is currently £10.42 an hour for workers over 23, while the minimum wage for those aged 21 and 22 is £10.18. However, during the Autumn statement, the Chancellor announced that everyone aged 21 and over will be eligible to receive the new Living Wage of £11.44.

In addition, rates for apprentices will reportedly rise, with an uplift from £5.28 to £6.40 per hour. The significant rise comes as the Conservative party aims to ‘tackle low pay’ by lifting the living wage to two-thirds of average earnings.

Mr Hunt said the increase will see a full-time worker aged 21 receive an annual pay rise of almost £2,300, a hike of around 30 per cent.

The Chancellor described the changes as “the largest ever cash increase in the national living wage, worth up to £1,800 for a full-time worker”.

He said, “Since the national living wage has been introduced, the proportion of people on low pay, defined as earning less than two-thirds of national median hourly income, has halved.

“But at the new rate of £11.44 an hour it delivers our manifesto commitment to eliminate low pay altogether.

“That means by next year someone working full-time on the national living wage will see their real take-home after-tax pay go up not by 25% but by 30% compared to 2010.”

Source: Metro

(Quotes via original reporting)