What Is UK National Living Wage, Real Living Wage and Minimum Wage

The UK’s mandatory minimum wage, the national living wage, will rise to £11.44 ($14.34) per hour from £10.42 in April 2024, after Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt announced the policy change before his Autumn Statement. The move will boost earnings for about 1.7 million people when it takes effect next year, and the same level of minimum pay will also apply to 21 and 22-year-old workers for the first time. Previously, those younger workers received a lower hourly minimum rate of £10.18. Here’s what to know:

The national living wage is the minimum hourly pay that almost all UK workers are legally entitled to, and all employers are obliged to pay it. Any companies that don’t can be fined by the tax and payments authority, HM Revenue and Customs. Some groups do not qualify, such as self-employed workers, company directors, volunteers, members of the armed forces and prisoners.