UK minimum wage gets largest ever raise

Millions of UK workers will see their pay rise after the government made the biggest ever cash increase in the legal minimum wage.

The government has announced a 6.2% increase in the National Living Wage (NLW), which applies to workers aged 25 and over. The NLW will rise from the current rate of £8.21 to £8.72 an hour, in the largest raise since it was introduced two decades ago.

The government has confirmed that the new rate will start on 1 April 2020 and will result in an increase of £930 annually for 2.8 million full-time workers earning the NLW.

Workers aged under 25 earning the National Minimum Wage (NMW) will also see increases of between 4.6% and 6.5%, depending on their age.

Commenting on the rise, Bryan Sanderson, Chair of the Low Pay Commission (LPC), said: ‘The NLW has been an ambitious long-term intervention in the labour market. The rate has increased faster than inflation, faster than average earnings and faster than most international comparators.

‘This has raised pay for millions without costing jobs, although employers have had to make a variety of other adjustments to deal with the increases.’