Record wage boost for nearly 3 million workers from next April

• Biggest ever increase to the National Living Wage, worth over £1,800 a year for a full-time worker, fulfils manifesto pledge to end low pay.
• Since 2010 the National Living Wage will have doubled in cash terms from around £10,500 to nearly £21,000 a year for a full-time worker.
• For the first time, 21-year-olds on the National Living Wage will always earn two-thirds of average earnings.

The Chancellor will deliver a pay rise of more than £1,800 a year for a full-time worker, as he confirms that the National Living Wage will increase by over a pound an hour from April.

The almost 10% pay boost, from £10.42 to £11.44 an hour, is the biggest cash increase in the National Living Wage in more than a decade and fulfils the government’s manifesto pledge to end low pay for those on the National Living Wage.  

Eligibility for the National Living Wage will also be extended by reducing the age threshold to 21-year-olds for the first time.  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. 18-20-year-olds will also get a wage boost to £8.60 per hour – a rise of £1.11.

The Department for Business and Trade estimate 2.7 million workers will directly benefit from the 2024 National Living Wage increase.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said: “Next April all full-time workers on the National Living Wage will get a pay rise of over £1,800 a year. That will end low pay in this country, delivering on our manifesto promise.

“The National Living Wage has helped halve the number of people on low pay since 2010, making sure work always pays.”

The minimum hourly wage for an apprentice is boosted next year, with an 18-year-old apprentice in an industry like construction seeing their minimum hourly pay increase by over 20%, going from £5.28 to £6.40 an hour.  

The National Living Wage was introduced in 2016 and currently sets the minimum hourly pay a person over the age of 23 earns when working. The new rate will now apply to 21- and 22-year-olds, and means that the government has met its ambitious target of lifting the National Living Wage to two-thirds of median earnings by 2024, ending low hourly pay for those on the National Living Wage.  

Since 2010, the proportion of workers on low hourly pay has more than halved from 21.3% to 8.9%, supported by increases to the National Living Wage. Personal tax thresholds have been doubled, meaning a working person can now earn £1,000 a month tax-free for the first time.  

Bryan Sanderson, Low Pay Commission Chair, said: “The National Living Wage has delivered an improved standard of living to thousands of people who care for our children and elderly, work in farms and shops and at many other essential jobs.

“These efforts over the lifetime of the NLW mean over £9,000 p.a. more to a full time worker without any increase in unemployment.

“This hasn’t been easy for employers, with the economy facing a range of unprecedented challenges in recent years. The high degree of political and economic uncertainty has made assessing and forecasting the performance of the economy, and therefore our task, very difficult. It is a tribute to my fellow Commissioners that we have continued to achieve consensus.

“Our new recommendation of a National Living Wage of £11.44 attempts to steer a path through this uncertainty and achieve the government target of two-thirds of the median wage, an outcome which if accepted would position the U.K. at the forefront of comparable economies.”

Getting more people into work and ensuring work pays is ‘a priority for the UK government’. The Chancellor will set out further measures in today’s Autumn Statement.