Up to one in three workers in some parts of the country are set to receive a pay rise from Friday as the new national living wage comes into effect, according to a study.
Torridge in Devon, Rossendale in Lancashire, Woking in Surrey and Castle Point in Essex were named as the areas most likely to benefit from the new £7.20 an hour wage from 1 April.
Employers in these areas will see significant increases in their wage bills, according to the study by the Resolution Foundation.
London and the South East will see a smaller impact than other parts of the country - with just 3% of workers in the City set to benefit.
The biggest city for employees to see a gain is Sheffield, where a fifth will be in a line for a pay rise under the policy, announced last year by Chancellor George Osborne - which introduced a national living wage that is set to rise to £9 an hour by 2020.
Across Britain, one in six workers will be affected by the national living wage, with a total of 4.5 million seeing an increase.
Torsten Bell, director of the Resolution Foundation, said: "The national living wage is a hugely ambitious policy with the potential to transform Britain's low pay landscape.
"Up to a third of workers will get a pay rise in national living wage hotspots, ranging from Canvey Island to Eastern Lancashire.
"Of course pay rises don't come free so employers in some sectors and parts of the country will feel the pressure more than others.
"That's why it's vital that businesses and national, regional and local government make the successful implementation of the new legal minimum a priority."
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