More than 2 million Brits will benefit from the 30p increase for everyone over 24, where as the National Minimum Wage – for those under 25 – has also risen.
But if you’re 16-17 the increase is worth the same, in real terms, as your salary would have been nine years ago.
Coming in at £4.05 young workers will be on the same as their counterparts were in 2008.
TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: ‘Young workers are getting a raw deal, especially those stuck on the minimum wage. As prices rise, their pay simply hasn’t kept up.
More and more people rely on the minimum wage, but the pay rates aren’t increasing fast enough. The government’s target of £9 by 2020 now seems a fantasy. The minimum wage needs a serious boost in the coming years, especially for younger workers.’
Indeed at the same time of this rise, introduced by the former Chancellor George Osborne last year, there is a wave of increases to the cost of day-to-day activities clustered around today.
People’s wallets will be hit by the increased costs, from when they post a letter to when their next household bill lands on their doormat, money experts have warned.
The cost of an NHS prescription in England will increase by 20p to £8.60 from April 1, as dental costs also increase, with the price of a check-up rising by 90p to £20.60.
But business minister Margot James said some workers will receive a pay rise of £600 a year as a result of today’s increases.
And policy analyst Conor D’Arcy said: ‘The National Living Wage is set to provide a huge and very welcome boost to low-paid workers throughout the Parliament.’
Not everyone is happy though.
Nearly 70,000 companies were already facing “significant” financial stress before the changes, insolvency firm Begbies Traynor said.
Its report shows the number of firms experiencing money woes ahead of Saturday’s business rates revaluation has jumped 8% since the fourth quarter of 2016, rising from 64,764 to 69,785.
Business rates have not been updated since 2010 and firms in London are set to be among those hit hardest due to soaring property values.
Mike Cherry, chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: ‘The average FSB employer will pay an extra £2,600 this year as a direct result of Government decisions.
‘This is due to the combined impact of today’s increase in the National Living Wage, consequential National Insurance costs, and pensions auto-enrolment contributions.
‘Most small business owners absorb the cost of wage increases by taking lower profits.’
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