So, I found myself wondering about the minimum wage in Liverpool the other day. It wasn’t for any super serious reason, just one of those things that popped into my head, and I thought, “Right, I should actually check this out properly.” I’ve lived here a while, and you hear bits and pieces, but I wanted the actual facts.
My Little Investigation
My first step, as you do, was to hit the internet. I grabbed my laptop, opened up a browser, and typed in something like “minimum wage Liverpool” or “current Liverpool pay rates”. I was half expecting to find a specific rate just for our city, you know, because Liverpool’s got its own vibe and economy.
Well, that was my first learning curve. Pretty quickly, I realised there isn’t really a “Liverpool minimum wage” that’s different from anywhere else in the UK. It turns out, the whole thing is set nationally by the government. So, what someone gets as a minimum in Birmingham or Bristol is the same as here in Liverpool. That made sense once I thought about it, but it wasn’t my initial assumption.
Digging into the Details
Once I established it was a national rate, I started looking for the official government sources. You want to get this stuff from the horse’s mouth, right? I found the pages that lay it all out, and it’s not just one single figure, which I guess I knew, but it’s good to see it clearly.
It breaks down mostly by age. This is what I gathered:
- There’s a top rate, which they often call the National Living Wage. This is for workers aged 23 and over. This used to be for 25 and over, but I saw that changed.
- Then there’s a rate for those aged 21 to 22.
- Another bracket for 18 to 20 year olds.
- And, of course, a rate for under 18s who are working.
- Apprentices also have their own specific minimum wage, which can be different especially in their first year, regardless of their age, and then it goes up based on their age and how long they’ve been an apprentice.
I made a mental note that these rates usually get updated in April each year, so it’s something you’ve got to keep an eye on if it directly affects you or if you’re hiring someone. The government websites are definitely the place to go for the very latest figures. I always try to look for those “.*” sites to be sure.
What I Took Away
So, after a bit of searching and reading, it was clear. The legal minimum hourly pay in Liverpool is exactly the same as the rest of the UK, and it depends on your age and whether you’re an apprentice. No special Liverpool rate, just the national one.
It’s also worth remembering that this is the minimum. I know some employers in Liverpool, and elsewhere, choose to pay what’s called the ‘Real Living Wage’. That’s a voluntary rate, higher than the government minimum, and it’s calculated based on what people actually need to live. There’s one rate for London and one for the rest of the UK, including Liverpool. But that’s a different scheme to the legal minimum I was looking into.
Anyway, that was my little journey into finding out about the minimum wage in Liverpool. Just a bit of practical knowledge I picked up. Always good to know how these things work, isn’t it?