Increased wage rates from April 2018
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The Chancellor confirmed that the National Living Wage rate will rise to £7.83, a 4.4% increase, while the National Minimum Wage rate for employees aged 21 to 24 will increase to £7.38, a 4.7% increase.
The increase to the National Living Wage will be lower than the Low Pay Commission's prediction of £7.90 but the Government is still committed to their target for the National Living Wage to reach 60% of median earnings by 2020. The wage rates for 2018/19 can be found in the table below.
| Wage Rate |
Current rate |
Rate from 1st April 2018 |
% increase |
| National Living Wwage (aged 25+) |
£7.50 | £7.83 | 4.4% |
| National Minimum Wage (aged 21-24) | £7.05 | £7.38 | 4.7% |
| Youth Development Rate (aged 18 - 20) |
£5.60 | £5.90 | 5.4% |
| 16-17 Year Old Rate |
£4.05 | £4.20 | 3.7% |
| Apprenticeship Rate |
£3.50 | £3.70 | 5.7% |
According to the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS), raising the minimum wage does not necessarily have the desired impact on smaller retailers. The ACS member survey from the last time minimum wage was increased shows that retailers responded to the higher rate by reducing working hours in the business (78%), reducing the profitability of their business (78%), working more hours in the business themselves (65%) and delaying investment plans (56%). 87% of retailers reported that they have not experienced reduced staff turnover, reduced absenteeism or increased productivity or worker effort since the National Living Wage was introduced
ACS recommends that the Low Pay Commission approaches setting the National Living Wage rate for 2018/19 with caution. 75% of convenience retailers indicate that they would like to see a freeze in the National Living Wage rate for next year.
