Millions of UK workers to get £975 cash boost | Personal Finance | Finance

Millions of Brits are set to receive around an extra £975 in their bank accounts from April as the minimum wage goes up. The minimum wage is the lowest hourly rate that employers are legally required to pay their staff.

The amount received depends on the individual’s age and applies to both full-time and part-time workers. To be eligible for the National Minimum Wage, one must be at least school leaving age, while the National Living Wage applies to those aged 21 and over.

From April, the National Living Wage for those aged 21 and over will increase from £12.21 to £12.71. For those aged between 18 and 20, and under 18, the minimum wages will rise from £10 to £10.50, and from £7.55 to £8 respectively.

Apprentices will also see a wage increase from £7.55 to £8 per hour. This rate applies to apprentices who are either under 19 or are 19 and over but in their first year of apprenticeship.

Apprentices over 19 who have completed their first year are entitled to the correct minimum wage for their age.

The National Living Wage increase means the average full-time worker aged 21 or over will receive around £975 more in their pay packets over the course of the year.

However, the following types of workers are not entitled to the minimum wage:

• workers on government pre-apprenticeships schemes
• people shadowing others at work
• higher and further education students on work experience or a work placement up to one year
• people living and working in a religious community
• people working on a Jobcentre Plus Work trial for up to 6 weeks
• company directors
• self-employed people running their own business
• workers on a government employment programme, such as the Work Programme
• workers younger than school leaving age (usually 16)
• people on the following European Union (EU) programmes: Leonardo da Vinci, Erasmus+, Comenius
• prisoners
• people who are volunteers or voluntary workers
• share fishermen
• members of the armed forces
• family members of the employer living in the employer’s home