From April 2018, the National Minimum Wage will be increasing to the following rates:
- Apprentices: Increase from £3.50 to £3.70 per hour;
- 16-17 year olds: Increase from £4.05 to £4.20 per hour;
- 18-20 year olds: Increase from £5.60 to £5.90 per hour;
- 21-24 year olds: Increase from £7.05 to £7.38 per hour.
- 25 and over (the ‘National Living Wage’) will also increase from £7.50 to £7.83 per hour
These rates still lag some way behind the recommendations of the Living Wage Foundation, which has calculated that the minimum amount that people actually need to live is currently £8.75 per hour, rising to £10.20 per hour in London. Approximately 3,800 UK businesses pay these higher rates on a voluntary basis.
There will also be an increase in statutory employment benefits:
- Statutory maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental pay and maternity allowance will increase to £145.18 per week (up from £140.98); and
- Statutory sick pay will increase to £95.05 a week (up from £89.35).