All apprentices starting a job with Haringey Council would be entitled to £7.20 per hour, the National Living Wage, from tomorrow if the council vote to follow the recommendations of a new report.

Once they reach their seventh month in the job, apprentices will start receiving the London Living Wage, at £9.40 an hour.

By rolling out the National Living Wage, Haringey would be giving their apprentices a salary increase of £15 per week based on a 30 hour per week contract, according to the council report.

Haringey Council are going above and beyond new legal requirements by ensuring that all their apprentices will be earning the National Living Wage wage, regardless of their age or when they start the job.

Under the law, anyone aged 25 or over and not in the first year of an apprenticeship will be legally entitled to at least £7.20 per hour - 50p more than before - from April 1.

Haringey aims to recruit 20 apprentices a year as part of a scheme started last year.

Supporting the scheme, Cllr Joe Goldberg, cabinet member for economic development, social inclusion and sustainability said: “Paying apprentices the Living Wage is further evidence of our long-term commitment to ensure decent standards of pay. It means a pay rise for young people who are working hard and learning new skills as apprentices. We believe that if you work hard you deserve a fair wage. That’s why we’re working with all of our suppliers to encourage them to follow Haringey’s lead by paying their staff a living wage.”

Councillors will be voting on the pay rise this evening.