The UK Government has announced that the National Living Wage (the minimum wage for over 23s) is to increase by 2.18% in April 2021.
This means that a 23-year-old working 40 hours a week will have a salary of approximately £18,532.8 a year, or £8.91 an hour.
A major change though is that the National Living Wage threshold is being reduced from 25 to 23 year, meaning a 23-year-old could see a 8.6% increase in pay.
With a large number of private sector employers struggling at the moment, finding such a large increase to their wage bill could be devastating. We hope it doesn’t lead to mass redundancy amongst this age group.
Summary of changes
Date |
25 and over |
23-24 |
21 to 22s |
18 to 20s |
Under 18s |
Apprentices |
April 2021 |
£8.91 |
£8.91 |
£8.36 |
£6.56 |
£4.62 |
£4.3 |
April 2020 (current rate) |
£8.72 |
£8.20 |
£8.20 |
£6.45 |
£4.55 |
£4.15 |
Difference (%) |
2.18 |
8.66 |
1.95 |
1.71 |
1.54 |
3.61 |
Table of minimum pay from Gov.UK
As the government is running the Kickstarter scheme for 18-24 year olds, paying 25 hours at the appropriate minimum wage a week, it will be interesting if employers particularly target 23 to 24 year olds due to the increased subsidiary. 25 hours a week at the appropriate rate for a 23 or 24 year equates to £5791 pay over the 6 month period a business will get the grant for.
Below are a list of jobs which are typically paid at the National Minimum Wage which should expect an increase:
- Warehouse Operative
- Cleaner
- Security Guard
- Shop Assistant
- Food Preparation Worker
- Customer Service
- Receptionist
- Order Filler