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National Living Wage to rise to £9.50 an hour

Joanna Faith
Written By:
Joanna Faith
Posted:
Updated:
25/10/2021

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to increase the National Living Wage to £9.50 an hour in the Budget on Wednesday.

It will go up from the current £8.91 an hour for workers aged 23 and over, Sky News reports.

The chancellor is under to pressure to help squeezed households who have been badly hit by the end of furlough, the revoking of the £20 Universal Credit uplift and soaring energy prices.

The National Living Wage is the government-mandated minimum wage for people 23 and over.

Increasing it to £9.50 an hour would align it with the recommended ‘real living wage’ set by campaign group the Living Wage Foundation.

The ‘real living wage’ is based on the amount of money people need to live. It is currently £10.85 for those in London.

Around 7,000 firms are accredited with the Living Wage Foundation. These organisations, which include two-fifths of the FTSE 100 companies, household names like Aviva, Nationwide, and ITV, as well as thousands of small businesses, pay the real living wage to ensure all staff earn a wage that meets the real cost of living, and covers everyday needs.