£975 boost for millions of UK workers from next week | Personal Finance | Finance
From next week, millions of workers throughout the UK could receive up to an extra £975 in their bank accounts.
This is because the minimum wage – the lowest hourly rate that employers are legally required to pay their staff – is rising again from April 1.
How much an individual receives is determined by their age, with the minimum wage applying to both full and part-time employees. To qualify for the National Minimum Wage, you must have reached school leaving age, while the National Living Wage applies to those aged 21 and above.
Furthermore, the minimum wages for those aged between 18 to 20, and under 18, will increase from £10 to £10.50 and from £7.55 to £8, respectively.
The apprentice rate will also rise from £7.55 to £8 per hour.
Apprentices who are either under 19, or aged 19 and over and in their first year of their apprenticeship, are entitled to the apprentice rate, while those over 19 who have finished their first year are entitled to the appropriate minimum wage for their age bracket.
For a full-time employee aged over 21, this increase amounts to approximately an additional £975 per year. However, the following categories of workers are not entitled to the minimum wage:
