Why thousands of Sheffield workers will be getting a pay rise this April

Thousands of workers in Sheffield will be getting a pay rise this April; but are you going to be one of the lucky ones?
Thousands of workers could be set for a pay rise - Image: Marisa CashillThousands of workers could be set for a pay rise - Image: Marisa Cashill
Thousands of workers could be set for a pay rise - Image: Marisa Cashill

In November, Chancellor Phillip Hammond announced that there would be a rise in the National Living Wage.

Mr Hammond revealed that the National Living Wage, Minimum Wage would be jumping from £7.50 up to £7.83 an hour for over 25-year-old workers from April 1.

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The 4.4 per cent rise in wages will mean that full time workers on basic pay will be around £600 better off than a year ago, according to the Chancellor.

Pay for 21-24-year-olds will be going up by 4.7 per cent while 18-20-year-olds will enjoy a 5.4 per cent rise to £5.90-an-hour.

Apprentices will also enjoy a 20p pay rise to £3.70-an-hour; the equivalent of a 5.7 per cent pay rise.

Find out here if you are eligible for National Living Wage.

The National Living Wage is an obligatory minimum wage payable to workers in the UK aged 25 and over, which came into effect on April 1, 2016.

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George Osborne, Chancellor at the time, announced the new 'National Living Wage' at the end of his budget speech in July 2015.

From April this year, the law states that if you're working and aged over 25 or above, and not in first year of an apprenticeship, then your hourly rate must be at least £7.83 an hour.

For any workers under 25, they are entitled by law to receive the National Minimum Wage, which will also be going up on April 1.

These are all the new laws which will be coming into force in 2018.

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The Government said that the new rates will boost the earnings of between 260,000 and 360,000 young workers directly, and many more young workers will benefit.

However, both the statutory National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage are still lower than the 'Real Living Wage' as calculated by the Living Wage Foundation.

The Real Living Wage is a voluntary pay bracket that employers are not legally entitled to sign up to, but affects workers aged 18 and older.

The Foundation described the pay as 'the only wage rate based on what people need to live'.

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Thousands of companies, including KPMG, Nestle and Nationwide have signed up to the scheme, which factors in the rate of inflation.

Currently the Living Wage stands at £8.45 an hour in the UK or £9.75 if you live in London.