Minimum wage in Northern Ireland to increase from April

Approximately three million workers across Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK are set to receive a pay rise of more than four times the rate of inflation from April, after the British government said it would increase the official minimum wage.

Its government said the “national living wage” for over-25s would increase from £8.21 an hour to £8.72 from the start of April 2020.

Workers over the age of 25 on the legal minimum wage, rebranded as the ‘national living wage’ four years ago, will receive an annual pay rise of 6.2 per cent from April – more than quadruple the level of the consumer price index (CPI) gauge of inflation, which stood at 1.5 per cent in November last year. According to HM Treasury, the increase equated to an increase in gross annual earnings of around £930 for a full-time worker on the current minimum rate.

Pay rates will also rise above inflation across all other age groups. These include; by 6.5 per cent to £8.20 for 21-24-year-olds; by 4.9 per cent to £6.45 for 18-20-year-olds; by 4.6 per cent to £4.55 for under-18s and 6.4 per cent to £4.15 for apprentices.