Living Wage: How young adults in Leeds will benefit from pay increase from today

The National Living Wage (NLW) will increase on Thursday April 1 to £8.91, giving a real-terms pay rise to thousands of workers across Leeds

At the same time, the age threshold for the rate will move from 25 to 23, meaning that thousands of young workers will be eligible for higher wages across the city.

These changes follow recommendations made to the Government by the Low Pay Commission (LPC) and are a first step towards the target of the NLW reaching two-thirds of median earnings for workers aged 21 and over by 2024.

Bryan Sanderson, Chair of the Low Pay Commission, said: "This has been an extraordinary year for all of us, but particularly for minimum wage workers, many of whom have worked throughout the pandemic in frontline roles or have worked in the sectors that have been hardest hit by lockdown measures.

"This week’s increase in the NLW is our first step towards the Government’s target of two-thirds of median earnings. It is a real-terms increase, meaning that an hour’s work can buy more than it could last year, at the start of the pandemic. The level of the new rate however also reflects the need to protect workers from job losses.

"Importantly, the NLW will now apply to workers aged 23 and over. This is an important change which is strongly endorsed by the Commission. Young people should be fairly rewarded for their work. We will seek to understand how young people’s pay and employment are affected by this in our consideration of a further reduction in the NLW age qualification to 21."

The other rates of the National Minimum Wage will also increase alongside the NLW.

The following rate changes will come into force: (PREVIOUS RATE - NEW RATE - INCREASE)

National Living Wage £8.72 £8.91 2.2%

21-22 Year Old Rate £8.20 £8.36 2.0%

18-20 Year Old Rate £6.45 £6.56 1.7%

16-17 Year Old Rate £4.55 £4.62 1.5%

Apprentice Rate £4.15 £4.30 3.6%

Accommodation Offset £8.20 £8.36 2.0%