Government goes ahead with pay rises

Wages have gone up for dads and mums and those on the National Living Wage (NLW) this week.

The new rate of NLW came into effect yesterday. It rises by 6.2% for those aged over 25. Younger workers receive different rates. Those aged 21-24 get the biggest rise of 6.5%.

According to the government the new rate results in an increase of £930 over the year for a full-time worker on the National Living Wage. The rise means the government is projected to meet its target for the NLW to reach 60% of median earnings by 2020.

The full set of rates can be seen below:

• the National Living Wage for those aged 25 and over will increase by 6.2% to £8.72 an hour
• the National Minimum Wage for those aged 21 to 24 is increasing by 6.5% to £8.20 an hour
• the National Minimum Wage for those aged 18 to 20 is increasing by 4.9% to £6.45 an hour
• the National Minimum Wage for those aged under 18 is increasing by 4.6% to £4.55 an hour
• the rate for apprentices is increasing by 6.4% to £4.15 per hour

Other benefits

A range of other benefits came into force on April 1. These include entitlement to bereavement leave for the first time. The full list, which includes an exotic sounding move to ‘scrap the Swedish derogation’ can be found here.

Meanwhile paternity pay increases this weekend. The rate of pay for new dads taking statutory paternity leave or Shared Parental Leave goes up to £151.20 (or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings if this figure is less than the statutory rate). The change takes effect on Sunday. Maternity pay increases to the same amount.

The government has pressed on with all the rises despite huge uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 outbreak. Some organisations, such as the Resolution Foundation think tank, say the increase should be delayed due to the pandemic which has seen businesses such as nurseries struggling. But the Government says its package of financial support for businesses and workers should mitigate the impact.

• Vote  
• 0
• 0
• You already voted!

• Tags:
• employment law employee rights