By bizn_fun 
Tens of thousands of workers in London will receive a pay rise from April due to an increase in the minimum wage, which the government announced ahead of the Budget.
The hourly rate for over-21s will rise by 50p to £12.71, with workers aged 18-20 seeing an 85p rise to £10.85, and under-18s and apprentices getting 45p more to £8 an hour.
In London, there are approximately 153,200 minimum wage workers aged 16 and over, according to the government’s 2024 statistics.
The highest number of those – 10,000 – work in Westminster.
Reeves argued the cost of living was still the biggest issue for working people but businesses warned that further increases to the minimum wages could result in hiring freezes.
Michael Kill, chief executive of Night Time Industries Association, called the Budget a “hammer blow to the already fragile night-time economy”.
He said the rise in minimum wage would present a serious challenge for the sector and he was “deeply concerned” by direct and indirect tax increases.
London’s mayor Sir Sadiq Khan said the rise in minimum wage was “great news” for young people working in the capital.
Reeves said in her Budget that retail, hospitality and leisure businesses would see “permanently lower tax rates”, funded by higher rates on properties worth £500,000 or more.
Labour estimates this will benefit 111,000 business properties in the capital.