Budget 2024: Minimum wage to rise to £12.21 an hour next year


Ahead of Wednesday’s Budget, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has confirmed that minimum wages will rise in April, with hourly rates for over-21s set to go up to £12.21 an hour. The pay boost means that more than three million workers will benefit. Employees aged 18 to 20 and apprentices will also see their minimum hourly pay increase. For 18 to 20-year-olds, the minimum wage will rise from £8.60 to £10, and apprentices will get the biggest pay bump, from £6.40 to £7.55 an hour.

Rachel Reeves said the pay boost marked a “significant step” towards achieving Labour’s promise of a “genuine living wage” for workers. The government said the big hike in the minimum wage for under-21s, the largest on record, marks the first step towards a single rate for all adults.

The Treasury said that firms have warned the higher cost could mean they have to cut back on hiring. Kate Nicholls, chief executive of trade group UK Hospitality, said that businesses would be approaching the Budget with “even more trepidation” following the announcement of minimum wage increases. “Trying to balance the books from the pockets of High Street businesses will simply leave hospitality as collateral damage – threatening jobs, future investment, price increases for consumers, and business viability,” she said.

In reference to Wednesday’s Budget, a Conservative Party spokesman said that “any increase will be well and truly eroded if Labour announces tax rises on working people”. National Insurance, paid by employers on top of the wages they pay out, is one of several taxes expected to be hiked by the chancellor to boost funding for public services, including the NHS. Melanie Pizzey, chief executive of the Global Payroll Association, suggested that businesses might limit pay rises for workers earning more than the minimum wage as they seek to keep costs down

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