The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, delivered his second Budget of 2021 today and as expected, this has included help to support businesses and individuals recover from the economic effects of Covid.
For employers the headlines budget news was all about the National Minimum Wage increases. The national living wage will increase to £9.50 an hour from 1 April 2022. This represents a 6.6% increase in the national living wage (or 59p per hour) for workers aged 23 and over from the current rate of £8.91 per hour.
In real terms, the lowest-paid employees can expect to see their income increase by approximately £1,000 per annum.
In addition, there will be increases in the national minimum wage for the following workers:
- Apprentices – increase from £4.30 to £4.81 per hour
- Those aged under 18 – increase from £4.62 to £4.81 per hour
- Those aged 18 to 20 – increase from £6.56 to £6.83 per hour
- Those aged 21 to 22 – increase from £8.36 to 9.18 per hour
Chancellor Rishi Sunak commented that this move will help more than two million of the lowest-paid workers and that his government was on the side of working people.
The Chancellor also wants to invest in a world class economy of the future and stated that he will maintain the target to increase research and development investment to £22 billion. In addition, the updated visa system should make it quicker for businesses, particularly in technology and science areas, to attract the best global talent and recruit highly skilled individuals.
If you would like to discuss this topic in more detail or would like more information, contact Ramshaw HR today.
