The National Living Wage will increase from £11.44 to £12.21 an hour from April 2025. The minimum wage for 18–20-year-olds is going up by £1.40 per hour to £10. These changes will benefit over three million of the lowest-paid workers across the UK.
Paddy Lillis – Usdaw general secretary says: “Usdaw provided evidence for significant pay increases for the lowest paid, after a three-year-long cost of living crisis under the Tories. We are pleased that Labour’s new remit for the Low Pay Commission has resulted in progress towards delivering a statutory real living wage and has started on the road to ending rip-off youth rates.
“Labour in government is already delivering the new deal for workers that Usdaw long campaigned for. The Employment Rights Bill will help secure economic growth, after years of stagnation, by improving productivity and stopping rogue employers undercutting those who treat their staff properly.
“Labour’s policies will also help give workers security, respect and the decency of an income they can live on. These are welcome protections that should help in future economic shocks. This is the transformational change that the country voted for, after 14 years of Tory chaos, austerity and attacks on workers’ rights.”
Notes for editors:
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is one of the fastest growing unions in the TUC and the UK's fifth biggest trade union with around 360,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades www.usdaw.org.uk
New rates from April 2025:
- National Living Wage (21 and over) £12.21 + £0.77 (+6.7%)
- 18–20-year-old rate £10.00 + £1.40 (+16.3%)
- 16–17-year-old rate £7.55 + £1.15 (+18%)
- Apprentice Rate £7.55 + £1.15 (+18%)
Employment Rights Bill: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3737
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on BlueSky @usdawunion.bsky.social and Twitter/X @UsdawUnion