Autumn Budget 2018

NLW will rise to £8.21

By Nikkie Sutton

- Last updated on GMT

Wages rise: a NLW increase means employers will have to pay staff (aged 25+) 38p more per hour (Ubermenschmatt/gettyimages.co.uk)
Wages rise: a NLW increase means employers will have to pay staff (aged 25+) 38p more per hour (Ubermenschmatt/gettyimages.co.uk)
The national living wage (NLW) paid to workers aged 25 or over will increase to £8.21 per hour in April 2019, the Chancellor Philip Hammond announced in his Autumn Budget yesterday (29 October).

This is a rise of 4.9% (38p), up from £7.83 an hour and amounts to an annual increase of about £690 for a full-time employee.

Hammond said: “From April [the NLW] will rise again, by 4.9%, from £7.83 to £8.21 handing a full-time worker a further £690 annual pay increase and taking his or her total pay rise, since the introduction of the NLW to more than £2,750 a year”.

The Chancellor also announced there will be a reduction in the amount small companies need to pay to the apprenticeship levy from 10% to 5%.

Work for employers

He added: “Through the apprenticeship levy we are delivering 3m high-quality apprenticeships but that system is paid for by employers and it has to work for employers.

“So today, I can announce that for smaller firms taking on apprentices, we will half the amount they have to contribute from 10% to 5%.”

On this, Nicholls said: “Reducing the cost of apprenticeships for small and medium-sized enterprises is a pragmatic and positive step towards tackling recruitment and retention problems being faced by businesses.”

Chief executive of the Society of Independent Brewers Mike Benner hailed the news on apprenticeships.

Skilled people

He said: “Small brewers looking to take on an apprentice will welcome the employer contribution being halved from 10% to 5%.

“We need more skilled people to keep the beer flowing and this proposal will help to train the next generation of brewers.”

Halving the apprenticeship levy contribution is good news for the pub trade, according to British Beer & Pub Association chief executive Brigid Simmonds.

Meanwhile, a one third cut in business rates for pubs, shops, restaurants and cafés with a rateable value of up to £51,000​ was also promised by the Chancellor Philip Hammond in his Autumn Budget.

He also announced a duty freeze on beer, cider and spirits​ but not for wine.

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