The National Living Wage was announced by George Osborne in his 2015 budget, and introduced in April 2016 at a rate of £7.20 an hour. This was just 50p higher than the previous Minimum Wage, which came into effect in October 2015. It was increased to £7.50 in April 2017.
A cynic might say that the introduction of the National Living Wage was no more than a rebranding exercise. There had been criticism of the National Minimum Wage, claiming that employers saw it as the "going rate" for unskilled jobs, and that it didn't reflect the actual cost of living in the UK.
Osborne might also be accused of paying lip service to the work of the Living Wage Foundation, but without really doing anything to help the lower–paid worker. This charity, founded in 2001, calculates what it calls the Real Living Wage – based on the changing cost of a basket of groceries.
The Real Living Wage applies to anyone aged 18 or over, "in recognition that young people face the same living costs as everyone else". It is currently set at £8.45 an hour, and £9.75 in London.
Three thousand employers, including local authorities, NHS trusts, banks, retailers, charities and construction companies, have committed to pay all of their workers at rates equal to or above the Real Living Wage.
There is still a Minimum Wage for people who are over the school leaving age but under 25.
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