It’s reported that three and a half million low-paid workers are set to see their wages rise from April 1st. This comes as Chancellor Rachel Reeves revealed back in her Autumn Budget, that she would be increasing the National Living Wage.
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00:00It's reported that three and a half million low-paid workers are set to see their wages
00:05rise from April 1st. This comes as Chancellor Rachel Reeves revealed back in her autumn
00:10budget that she would be increasing the national living wage. But what does this mean for you?
00:16So if you're over 21, that means your minimum wage is set to go up by 6.7%. For 18-20-year-olds,
00:23the national minimum wage is rising by 16%. Furthermore, a higher hourly rate, called
00:28the real living wage, which is paid voluntarily by some UK businesses to half a million people
00:33across the UK, is also going up. The government have said that the increase was worth around
00:39£1,400 a year for an eligible full-time worker. The Living Wage Foundation is a charity that
00:46tries to ensure that everyone can earn a wage that meets their everyday needs. It's reported
00:51that despite the huge impact of the living wage movement, there are still 3.5 million
00:57workers across the UK that are in low-paid and insecure work. New research published
01:02earlier this year found that 42% of workers earning below the real living wage have less
01:07than £10 left over after paying for their essentials. The research also found that two
01:13in five workers earning below the real living wage used a food bank in the past year, with
01:1828% of them relying on food banks at least once a month. The foundation reported that
01:23nearly one in six UK jobs paid below the real living wage in 2024. New research shows
01:29that if a quarter of these jobs were given a pay rise to meet the real living wage, it
01:33could put £1.2 billion back into the UK economy. It's reported that major investors in the
01:38UK are further pushing retailers like Next, Marks and Spencers and JD Sports to increase
01:44pay for thousands of workers. This sees individuals and investors encouraging companies to pay
01:50a real living wage to help workers cover necessary household costs. Catherine Howarth,
01:56the chief executive of campaign group Share Action, said the UK's biggest retailers are
02:01failing to support their workers with a real living wage, leaving hundreds of thousands
02:06of people in the sector struggling to make ends meet. Discussing the changes to minimum
02:12wage, the government said that the new rates will help employers continue to hire and train
02:18up young staff, addressing the nearly one million young people not in education, employment
02:24or training.