The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, confirmed that the government has committed to the proposals of the Low Pay Commission for increasing minimum wage rates from 1 April 2024. The actual wage rate recommendations of the Low Pay Commission are expected to be announced next month.
The latest forecasts show that this would create a pay boost next year worth over £1,000 for two million low-paid workers. A full-time worker on the National Living Wage (NLW) will be over £9,000 better off than they would have been in 2010.
These increases are expected to see the NLW increase to over £11 an hour. The NLW is the minimum hourly rate that must be paid to those aged 23 or over. The threshold is expected to further reduce to age 21 by 2024. These changes are based on the remit from the Low Pay Commission which sets a target for the NLW to reach two-thirds of median earnings by 2024 for workers aged 21 and over.
The current minimum wage rates for the period from 1 April 2023 – 31 March 2024 are as follows:
National Living Wage
- Aged 23 & over – £10.42
National Minimum Wage
- Aged 21 to 22 – £10.18
- Aged 18 to 20 – £7.49
- Aged 16 and 17 – £5.28
- Apprentice rate – £5.28