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2 Jul 2025

MPs have called on Amazon and eBay to tighten controls after e-bikes and chargers flagged as serious fire risks were found for sale on their platforms.

25 Jun 2025

The E-Bike Positive campaign has seen major success in the first half of 2025, with its message reaching nearly 8 million people across the UK through high-profile media coverage and growing...

20 Jun 2025

The House of Commons Business and Trade Committee has asked the ACT, and its parent company Bira, to help them reach out to small business retailers across the country, for their quick input on...

20 Jun 2025

Activate Cycle Academy has reopened its Cytech training facility in Darlington, offering a full range of courses from Home Mechanic up to Cytech Technical Three.
 

18 Jun 2025

The Association of Cycle Traders believes the time has come for greater accountability throughout our supply chain, writes ACT Director Jonathan Harrison in an article published for BikeBiz.

16 Jun 2025

The ACT has welcomed the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Cycling and Walking's report "Unregulated and Unsafe: The Threat of Illegal E-Bikes", which calls for urgent Government action to...

11 Jun 2025

A new academic study has found that overzealous pro-cycling campaigners on social media may be inadvertently damaging the case for better cycling infrastructure across the UK.

11 Jun 2025

Bira has welcomed the Welsh Government's consultation on business rate reforms for retail shops, whilst calling for significant improvements to ensure the proposals truly support high street...

10 Jun 2025

Bike thefts across England and Wales have continued their steady decline, according to new data released by cycle insurance specialist Bikmo.

9 Jun 2025

Retailers on Britain's high streets are being encouraged to put themselves forward for the first-ever Love Your High Street Awards, designed to celebrate the small businesses that bring...

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Minimum wage rises for two million workers

Posted on in Business News , Cycles News , Political News

About two cashmillion of the UK's lowest-paid workers will get a pay rise from Thursday as the minimum wage goes up.

The National Living Wage will rise 2.2% to £8.91, the equivalent of more than £345 a year for a full-time employee.

It will also be given to 23 and 24-year-olds for the first time, not just those aged 25 and over.

Statutory rates for apprentices and those aged between 18 and 22 will also rise, along with the voluntary "Real Living Wage".

However, hundreds of thousands of low-paid workers on furlough will see no uplift at all after they were excluded.

Ministers said the increases to minimum wages would particularly benefit workers in sectors such as retail, hospitality, cleaning and maintenance.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it would be "a welcome boost to families right across the UK".

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng urged "all workers" to check their pay packets to ensure they were "getting what they are entitled to, and remind employers of their duty to pay the correct wage".

 

Minimum wage increases from 1 April:

  • From £8.72 to £8.91 an hour for workers over the age of 23
  • From £8.20 to £8.36 for those aged 21-22
  • From £6.45 to £6.56 for 18 to 20-year-olds
  • From £4.55 to £4.62 for under-18s
  • From £4.15 to £4.30 for apprentices


The voluntary Real Living Wage will rise to £10.85 an hour in London and £9.50 outside the capital, but only a small minority of employers have signed up to pay it.

The foundation promoting it warned there was still a "substantial gap" between the statutory rates and one based on the actual cost of living.

Increased cash incentives for employers to hire new apprentices kick in today

In addition to the increase in national living wage, the government also recently introduced new funding grants during the pandemic for employers taking on new apprentices, meaning that they could now receive up to £4,000 per apprentice.

During the recent Budget at the beginning of March Sunak announced an extension and increase to current apprenticeship incentives, so that from today (1st April 2021) until 30th September 2021 employers who take on a new apprentice of any age will receive an incentive payment of £3,000, superseding the current incentives.

This is in addition to the pre-existing £1,000 payment already provided for new apprentices aged 16 to 18 and those under 25 with an Education, Health and Care Plan, meaning that some employers could receive £4,000 in total and on top of having the majority of training funded by the government, meaning it has never been a better time to employ an apprentice.

The extended and increased payments will have the potential to be both transformational for young people and employers alike.

Alongside a much-needed cash boost for businesses, the scheme encourages employers to grow their own talent, creating some amazing opportunities for people to start a rewarding career within the cycling industry.

Read up on how you can take on Cytech qualified bicycle technician apprentices now 

 

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