The national minimum wage and national living wage rates will rise from 1 April 2018.
Eligible workers aged 25 and over who are not in their first year of an apprenticeship will be entitled to the new national living wage rate of £7.83.
Those aged 21-24 will see their hourly wage rise to £7.38.
Apprentices will benefit from a record rise of 5.7%, according to the government, with the hourly apprentice rate increasing to £3.70.
The apprentice rate applies to those aged 16-18 and 19 or over in their first year.
| Year | 25 and over | 21 to 24 | 18 to 20 | Under 18 | Apprentice |
| April 2017 | £7.50 | £7.05 | £5.60 | £4.05 | £3.50 |
| From 1 April 2018 | £7.83 | £7.38 | £5.90 | £4.20 | £3.70 |
This comes after the government ‘named and shamed’ 179 employers for failing to pay their workers the minimum wage, charging fines of £1.3 million in total.
Quote from Nigel Holland:
“Employers need to ensure that they stay within the national minimum wage. Not only will they be avoiding a backlash from the public once they get caught underpaying staff, but they will be saving money in the long run.
As a result of underpaying staff, employers can face a minimum fine of £100 up to £20,000. This penalty is set at a payment of 200% of the total underpayment. Also, The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy name and shame businesses that underpay their staff which could cause the business overall to gain a bad reputation.
Thus to avoid these consequences, employers should make sure that they are paying their staff above or equal to the national minimum wage.”