Minimum wage rises to £12.71 an hour

Minimum wage rises to £12.71 an hour 9 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Emer Moreau , Business reporter and Oliver Smith , Business producer iStock The Treasury said around 2.7 million people are on minimum wage Around 2.7 million people are set to receive a pay rise this week as the national minimum wage goes up by 50p to £12.71 for over 21s. Workers aged 18-20 will see an 85p rise to £10.85, and under-18s and apprentices will get 45p more to £8 an hour. Campaigners have welcomed the increases, but businesses have said the higher wage bills will force them to increase prices or cut staff. The Low Pay Commission, the government agency which recommended the increases, said previous minimum wage rises for over-21s had "not had a significant negative impact on jobs". Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said wages were going up "for the lowest paid" but said the government "must go further to bear down on costs". Spencer Bowman is the managing director of of Mettricks, a chain of four coffee shops in Southampton. He says he would normally be "thrilled" to pay staff more, but "the cost increases have got to be sustainable". "There's nothing that I'd want more than to ensure that my team can earn a really fair amount of money for a fair day's work. …