Exact date minimum wage to rise to £12.21 an hour for millions

Millions of workers are set to receive a pay boost after an increase to minimum wage rates was confirmed. More than three million workers are expected to benefit after Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed the rise.

The National Living Wage - for people aged 21 and over - will increase from £11.44 to £12.21 an hour from next April. The 6.7 per cent increase is worth £1,400 a year for an eligible full-time worker.

Ms Reeves said the boost marked a 'significant step' towards achieving Labour's promise of a 'genuine living wage' for workers. The National Minimum Wage - for 18 to 20-year-olds - will also increase, rising from £8.60 to £10.00 an hour.

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It will be the largest increase in the rate on record, the Treasury said. The £1.40 increase will mean full-time younger workers eligible for the rate will see their pay boosted by £2,500 next year.

The move comes ahead of the Budget tomorrow (Wednesday, October 30). Ms Reeves said: "This Government promised a genuine living wage for working people. This pay boost for millions of workers is a significant step towards delivering on that promise."

The move marks a step towards' aligning the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage to create a single adult wage rate'. This will 'take place over time', the Treasury said.

Baroness Philippa Stroud, Chair of the Low Pay Commission, said: "The Government have been clear about their ambitions for the National Minimum Wage and its importance in supporting workers’ living standards. At the same time, employers have had to deal with the adult rate rising over 20 per cent in two years, and the challenges that has created alongside other pressures to their cost base.

"It is our job to balance these considerations, ensuring the NLW provides a fair wage for the lowest-paid workers while taking account of economic factors. These rates secure a real-terms pay increase for the lowest-paid workers.

"Young workers will see substantial increases in their pay floor, making up some of the ground lost against the adult rate over time." Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner added: "A proper day’s work deserves a proper day’s pay.

"Our changes will see a pay boost that will help millions of lower earners to cover the essentials as well as providing the biggest increase for 18–20-year-olds on record. The minimum hourly wage for an apprentice is also boosted next year, with an 18-year-old apprentice in an industry like construction seeing their minimum hourly pay increase by 18.0%, a pay bump from £6.40 to £7.55 an hour.

"These increases will mean 3.5 million workers will receive a pay rise this year in total. They confirm the Low Pay Commission’s recommendations, whose advisory remit was overhauled by ministers in July to consider the cost of living."