UK employers offering the “real living wage” will be required to boost pay by 10% next year, benefiting nearly half a million workers whose employers participate in the voluntary scheme. The move comes three weeks after Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt announced a similar hike in the mandatory national living wage, to at least 11 ($13.42) an hour from 10.42. That will boost earnings for about 1.7 million people from April when it takes effect. Here’s what to know about both:
The national living wage is the minimum hourly pay that almost all UK workers are legally entitled to from the age of 23. 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.
Millions of households have been hit by a surge in the cost of living following the pandemic. Raising the living wage will also benefit the government by boosting income tax receipts, with the bill being picked up by businesses. It would be unusual for Hunt to keep the living wage unchanged: Its level is set by the government on the advice of an independent, state-funded body called the Low Pay Commission.
The national living wage is part of the UK’s national...
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