Around one million UK workers will see their wages increase from today as the new national minimum wage comes in to effect.

The rate rises 3.8 per cent to £5.73 an hour, which will save the taxpayer £245 million in benefit payments and help reduce the gender pay gap, according to the Trade Union Congress.

General secretary Brendan Barber says the increase will help thousands of families, although the low-paid face a high inflation rate as they spend a greater proportion of their earnings on food and energy.

"It is entirely predictable that some employer groups will say that the minimum wage increase will threaten jobs, yet it has helped millions without significant job losses," he adds.

Mr Barber warns that employers who avoid paying the minimum wage leave the UK's vulnerable workers in "even deeper poverty" and calls for tougher enforcement penalties to crack down on such bosses.

The minimum wage has risen from £3.60 per hour when it was introduced in April 1999.