The government has approved a rise in the national minimum wage (NMW) to £6.50 per hour, as recommended by the independent Low Pay Commission (LPC).
This change is expected to boost take home pay for more than one million employees who could see their wage increase by as much as £355 a year.
The rise fell short of calls for an inflation busting increase from Chancellor George Osborne. At the time he suggested boosting NMW to as much as £7 an hour for workers aged 21 and over.
The recommendations were accepted by Business Secretary Vince Cable. The rise also included plans for bigger minimum wage increases in the future.
From the 1st of October 2014 NMW rates will be:
- A 19p (3 per cent) increase in the adult rate (from £6.31 to £6.50 per hour)
- A 10p (2 per cent) increase in the rate for 18 to 20 year olds (from £5.03 to £5.13 per hour)
- A 7p (2 per cent) increase in the rate for 16 to 17 year olds (from £3.72 to £3.79 per hour)
- A 5p (2 per cent) increase in the rate for apprentices (from £2.68 to £2.73 per hour)
- the accommodation offset increases from the current £4.82 to £4.91
More than 890,000 of Britain’s lowest-paid workers will gain from these changes.