MILLIONS of workers will get a boost to their wages next month, the Chancellor confirmed today.
Jeremy Hunt first announced the hike as part of last November’s Autumn Statement and the Treasury has confirmed that it will still go ahead following the Spring Budget.
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The 10% hike will see the national living wage rise from £9.50 to £10.42 an hour from April 1.
The move will mean a pay day for more than 2.5million Brits.
People on the national living wage will see their pay packets increase by 92p which means an additional £32.20 a week and £1,674.40 a year.
The national living wage is the minimum amount all employers have to pay staff aged 23 and over.
Those younger than 23 can be paid the national minimum wage instead, which is currently £9.18 for 21 to 22-year-olds and £6.83 for those aged 18 to 20.
These will rise to £10.18 and £7.49 an hour respectively from April too.
The national living wage is different from the real living wage, which sits at £11.95 in London and £10.90 for the rest of the UK.
The real living wage is set by the charity Living Wage Foundation, and isn’t compulsory for bosses to follow.
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However, 11,000 UK businesses voluntarily pay it to staff members.
Mr Hunt gave more details about the living wage hike during his Autumn Statement.
The Chancellor said: “This government introduced the national living wage which has been a giant step to eliminating low pay.
“So today I am accepting the recommendation of the Low Pay Commission to increase it next year by 9.7%.
“That means, from April 2023, the hourly rate will be £10.42 which represents an annual pay rise worth over £1,600 to a full time worker.”
Meanwhile, smokers are facing the biggest ever price hike on cigarettes from 6pm tonight – with a pack of 20 going up by £1.15.
And, Mr Hunt is extending the current £2,500 Energy Price Guarantee until July.
He has also announced that working parents on Universal Credit will be paid upfront and the cap on the maximum they can claim is going up for the first time since 2005.
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