91 per cent of British business leaders support the national living wage, according to a new government survey.

In the wake of these findings, the government has urged the sector to do more.

It’s recommended that companies take four simple steps to be better prepared for the introduction of the National Living Wage on 1 April 2016. These are:

• Know the correct rate of pay - £7.20 per hour for staff aged 25 and over
• Find out which staff are eligible for the new rate
• Update the company payroll in time for 1 April 2016, and
• Communicate the changes to staff as soon as possible.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills poll of 1,000 employers, also revealed that many retailers were ahead of businesses generally in taking key steps to be prepared, with 57 per cent having already updated their payroll to take account of staff aged 25 and over, compared to almost 45 per cent of businesses generally.

For more information about the National Living Wage and information about how you can prepare, click here.