The Treasury has announced a 9.8% increase to the national living wage from April 2024, with mandatory rate of hourly pay increasing from £10.42 to £11.44.
Accepting this year’s recommendations from the Low Pay Commission, the government also lowered the age at which people qualify for the national living wage, from 23 to 21 years old. This means that employees aged 21 and 22 currently on the national minimum wage of £10.18 will receive a £1.26 or 12.6% increase to £11.44.
And younger employees will also receive a bumper pay increase from April 2024, with 18 to 20 year olds set to see their pay increase by 14.8% to £8.10, while 16 to 17 year olds and apprentices will receive a 21.2% increase to £6.40.
The new rates for 2024-2025 take the national living wage to two-thirds of median hourly pay for those aged 21 and over.
Bryan Sanderson, chair of the Low Pay Commission, 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.
National living wage 2024
‘Real’ Living Wage rates increase by 10% again
“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.
“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 UK at the forefront of comparable economies.”
The Recruitment & Employment Confederation’s deputy chief executive Kate Shoesmith said: “This rise rightly takes into account both cost of living increases and the slow path of pay growth over the last decade or so. It will be a challenge for some employers to adapt but it should help make working in some sectors that are experiencing labour shortages, such as hospitality, care and retail, more attractive at a time when our data shows more than two million job postings in the UK.
“But pay is not the only thing workers require – flexible work that allows someone to manage their other life commitments is often top of the list for jobseekers. The NLW increase today should also serve as a reminder to employers to think about how they can offer a rounded package if they want to attract and retain talent in this market.”
TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said the increase was badly needed, but a £15 an hour NLW would have been more appropriate.
“And let’s not lose sight of the bigger picture. Most working people’s pay packets have fallen in real-terms for the last decade – the worst squeeze in earnings in more than 200 years,” he said.
“The Conservatives have overseen record levels of in-work poverty. And they have not lifted a finger to help low-paid workers stuck in insecure work, who are often the victims of wage theft and other abuses.”
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