Alicja Witwicka

ALT Minimum wage (yellow line) has increased approximately linearly since its introduction in 1999, from an equivalent salary of around £6400 back then, to £16,200 in April 2022. Until October 2002, minimum PhD stipend levels (blue line) were slightly higher than minimum wage. A sharp increase in stipend levels then occurred between October 2002 and October 2005. Since then PhD stipends have continued to increase, though to a lesser extent than minimum wage. By April 2019, minimum wage and minimum PhD stipends were once again about equivalent; as of April 2022, the salary of someone working full-time on minimum wage increased above the value of the PhD stipend minimum. A 13% increase in October 2022 brought stipends above minimum wage again, but this lasted only until April 2023. The planned increase in minimum wage in April 2025 will produce a net salary £1426 greater than current minimum stipends