As everyone will be aware the National Living Wage came into effect April 2016 for those over the age of 25 and as of April 2018 it will be increasing to £7.83. There will also be an increase to the National Minimum Wage at the same time. We've highlighted the new rates below.
This will be a welcome boost in earnings for young people across the UK, but businesses on the other hand will feel a further squeeze on costs. As expected, the increase in national minimum wage has caused mixed feelings. On the one hand many feel that the increases are not enough and young people should be paid more. On the other, many argue that the increase will simply mean labour is unaffordable and there will be fewer job opportunities as a result.
With further increases planned over the next few years it will interesting to see what the actual impact of these changes will be.