Millions of workers in UK will get a pay rise from next week
Millions of Brits will be getting a boost in their wages from next week, it has been confirmed today.
People will have another £1,400 to play with each year thanks to the government increasing the National Living Wage by 6.7 percent.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the news while delivering the Spring Statement today (26 March), months after she first revealed the plans back in October last year.
She previously described the move as a 'significant step' towards fulfilling Labour's manifesto promise of bringing in a 'genuine living wage for working people'.
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Today, Reeves told the House of Commons today that she was 'proud' of what Sir Keir Starmer's party has done since taking office.
"This Labour government was elected to bring change to our country," she said. "To provide security for working people and to deliver a decade of national renewal.
"That work of change began in July - and I am proud of what we have delivered in just nine months. Restoring stability to our public finance, giving the Bank of England the foundation to cut interest rate three times since the general election.
"Rebuilding our public services with record investment in our NHS, bringing waiting lists down for five months in a row...and increasing the National Living Wage to give three million people a pay rise from next week.
"Now, our task is to secure Britain’s future in a world that is changing before our eyes."
Three million Brits are set to benefit from the move, which will be introduced next Tuesday (1 April).
The living wage is going to increase by 6.7 percent from £11.44 an hour to £12.21 an hour, meaning people will be getting 77p more for each hour they work.
According to Downing Street, this means Brits earning the living wage and working a full time job will take home £1,400 more in pay a year due to the wage increase.
It's not the only change coming in on 1 April either, as there will also be bigger pay rises for other tiers of the National Living Wage, as the top rate is for those aged 21 and above, along with pay for apprentices.
18 to 20-year-olds on the living wage will be getting a 16.3 percent increase in pay, with their rate increasing from £8.60 an hour to a tidy £10.
It's the under-18s and apprentices who will see the biggest pay increase next week though, as now their hourly rate will now shoot up from £6.40 to £7.55.
Apprentices who are aged 19 or over and have completed the first year of their apprenticeship then get shifted up to their age appropriate level of pay.
The 'accommodation offset' - AKA a daily deduction from wages to pay for accommodation costs - has risen from £9.99 to £10.66 a day.
The age at which Brits have been paid the living wage has lowered in recent years, in 2021 it dropped from 25 to 23 and last year it dropped from 23 to 21.
The government is looking at further reducing it from 21 to 18 in the future, increasing the number of Brits who would be paid the top rate of living wage.
While the changes kick in on 1 April you may want to be vigilant that your employer hasn't failed to increase your pay as they should.
Earlier this year, Martin Lewis advised Brits on the National Living Wage to check that their earnings weren't falling below the legal limit.
Olivia Burke