Thousands of Irish workers have braced themselves for a pay rise in just days as key changes come into effect on January 1st

THE national minimum hourly rate is set to increase in a few days.

Thousands across the country can expect a pay rise starting January 1, 2023.

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From the age of 20, a minimum wage of 11.30 euros per hour is paid.

Irish workers in this age group used to earn €10.50 an hour, an increase of 80 cents.

In addition, 19-year-olds receive at least 10.17 euros per hour.

This has increased compared to the previous hourly wage of €9.45.

And 18-year-olds who work in Ireland should get 9.04 euros an hour in the new year.

Before that, the minimum hourly rate was €8.40.

And under-18s can expect a minimum hourly wage of €7.91, up from the previous rate of €7.35.

Several categories of workers are exempt from the national minimum wage.

An excluded group are employees who are close relatives of the employer when the employer is a sole proprietorship.

Another group are apprentice craftsmen within the meaning of the Industrial Training Act, 1967 or the Labor of Services Act, 1987.

To ensure that the minimum wage increase does not result in employers having to pay a higher PRSI fee simply because of this increase, the employer PRSI threshold will be increased from the current €410 to €441 from 1 January 2023.

That news came as former Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar announced the introduction of a national living wage for workers.

SALARY INCREASE

The national living wage is set at 60 percent of the median hourly wage, according to the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission.

It will be introduced over a four-year period and will be in effect until 2026, when it will replace the national minimum wage.

The first step towards achieving a living wage will be to increase the national minimum wage by 80 cents to €11.30 an hour from 1 January 2023.

The minimum wage was last increased on January 1, 2022.