The National Living Wage (NLW) will rise to at least £11 an hour from April 2024, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has confirmed.
The Chancellor confirmed the increase in a speech to the Conservative Party conference and said the rise will benefit two million low paid workers. People aged 23 and over are eligible for the NLW.
The Treasury stated that as a result of successive increases, a full-time worker on the NLW will be more than £9,000 better off than they would have been in 2010.
Katherine Chapman, Director of the independent Living Wage Foundation, said:
'A rise in the statutory NLW from next April is welcome news for low paid workers, but may fall short of the real Living Wage next year, the only rate that is independently calculated based on the cost of living.
'Our research ... showed that 60% of people earning below the real Living Wage had used a foodbank in the past year and nearly 40% were regularly skipping meals.'
Internet links: GOV.UK Living Wage Foundation