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UK minimum wage to rise to £6.50 an hour

Lucinda Beeman
Written By:
Lucinda Beeman
Posted:
Updated:
05/12/2014

The UK government has approved a rise in the national minimum wage to £6.50 an hour, a 19p increase in the adult rate.

The first real terms cash increase since 2008, the rise will be implemented in October 2014 and will benefit more than one million people.

According to the independent Low Pay Commission, the change is manageable for employers and will support full employment.

Business Secretary Vince Cable has also accepted the Low Pay Commission’s (LPC) plans for larger increases in the future than have been seen in recent years.

Cable said: “The LPC’s new forward guidance gives us a much better understanding of how an economic recovery can be translated into faster and significant increases in the national minimum wage for low paid workers, without costing jobs.

“The experts will continue to advise government on future wage rises to help the low paid, and in the meantime I urge businesses to consider how all their staff- not just those on the minimum wage- can enjoy the benefits of recovery.”