Autumn Statement 2016 – The National Living Wage
The National Living Wage came into effect on 1 April 2016 and is currently set at £7.20 per hour. The National Living Wage is the minimum hourly rate that must be paid for those aged 25 or over.
As part of the Autumn Statement, it has been announced that the National Living Wage will increase to £7.50 from 1 April 2017. This increase is worth an extra £500 per year to a full-time worker earning the National Living Wage.
It had also been previously announced that from April 2017 the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and the National Living Wage rates will be uprated in parallel. The NMW rates which increased from 1 October 2016 will therefore also increase from 1 April 2017 and these new rates have also been announced.
The increases to the NMW are as follows:
- for 21 to 24 year olds – from £6.95 per hour to £7.05
- for 18 to 20 year olds – from £5.55 per hour to £5.60
- for 16 to 17 year olds – from £4.00 per hour to £4.05
- for apprentices – from £3.40 per hour to £3.50
The government will also continue to invest in helping ensure that small businesses understand the minimum amount that they should be paying their employees and to target employers who are not paying the minimum wage.