Great Britain: minimum salary rises 6.6%  

From April 2022, the National Living Wage, the UK’s minimum hourly wage, paid to employees aged 23 and over will be increased to £9.50 (€11.26), compared to £8.91 (€10.56) currently. This increase, officially announced by the government on 27 October as part of its budget presentation, is double the estimated 3.1% increase in the cost of living. The executive also intends to increase the minimum hourly wage for younger people, which will rise from: £8.36 (€9.91) to £9.18 (€10.88) for 21-22 year olds, £6.56 (€7.78) to £6.83 (€8.10) for 18-20 year olds and, £4.62 (€5.48) to £4.81(€5.70) for those under 18. Apprentices will see their hourly wage increase from £4.30 (€5.10) to £4.81 (€5.70). Conservative Party Chancellor Rishi Sunak stated, “This is a major commitment to the high wage, high skill, high productivity economy of the future.” Following the announcement, the trade union confederation TUC remains sceptical and is calling for an immediate increase in the minimum wage to at least £10 per hour (€11.86). “We all want to see a higher-wage economy, but the real challenge is how to do so sustainably,” said the employers’ confederation CBI. Representatives of SMEs have expressed doubts over the ability of small businesses to absorb these increases.