Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) has announced plans to raise the minimum wage for British and American workers.

Employees in the UK will see a rise from £8 an hour to £10.50 in London and £9.50 across the rest of the country, affecting almost 40,000 workers.

In the US, the minimum wage for over 350,000 workers Amazon employees will rise to $15 (£11.57) an hour.

Jeff Bezos, the tech giant’s founder, said: “We listened to our critics, thought hard about what we wanted to do, and decided we want to lead.”

“We’re excited about this change and encourage our competitors and other large employers to join us.”

The change to wages will apply to all workers, including those on full-time and part-time contracts. It will also include seasonal and temporary staff that have been hired by recruitment agencies.

The wage increase in London is higher than the Living Wage recommended earning of £10.20 an hour.

As well as just change the minimum wage within the group, Amazon has also said it would press for a change to the US minimum wage level.

Amazon spokesman Jay Carney said: “We will be working to gain Congressional support for an increase in the federal minimum wage. The current rate of $7.25 was set nearly a decade ago.”

The increase in the group’s wage comes after Philip Hammond pledged to go ahead with a new digital tax on internet companies.