Minimum wage and National Living Wage rates 2026.

Hourly rates, which change on 1 April every year:

• 21 and over (National Living Wage): £12.71 an hour (was £12.21 until 31 March 2026)
• 18 to 20: £10.85 an hour (was £10.00 until 31 March 2026)
• 16 and 17: £8.00 an hour (was £7.55 until 31 March 2026)
• Apprentice: £8.00 an hour (was £7.55 until 31 March 2026)

From 1 April 2027:

• 21 and over (National Living Wage): £13.21 an hour
• 18 to 20: £11.27 an hour
• 16 and 17: £8.31 an hour
• Apprentice: £8.31 an hour

• Workers are entitled to the minimum wage once they are over school leaving age, and to the National Living Wage from 21.
• The apprentice rate is for apprentices under 19, and for apprentices of 19 or over in the first year of their apprenticeship. After that first year, an apprentice of 19 or over gets the rate for their age.
• A birthday moves someone up a band, so their pay must rise from that day.

Workers must average at least the minimum wage across the hours they work in each pay reference period: usually how often they are paid, and never longer than 31 days.

• Doesn’t count: tips, service charges and cover charges, and extra pay for unsocial-hours shifts.
• Taken off pay: things a worker buys for the job and isn’t paid back for, such as a uniform or safety gear, and payments for the employer’s own benefit. A £15 a week uniform charge can take someone below the rate.
• Accommodation: if you provide it, a charge above £11.10 a day (the accommodation offset from April 2026) is taken off their pay for minimum wage purposes.

• Keep pay records for at least 6 years, able to show each pay reference period in a single document.
• If you find you have underpaid, pay the arrears straight away.
• Not paying the minimum wage, or faking records, is a criminal offence. You can be fined, made to pay arrears, and named.

• Turn every salary into an hourly rate: the year’s pay over the hours actually worked, not just contracted hours.
• Diary each young worker’s birthday and each apprentice’s first-year end, when their rate changes.
• Check everyone near the rate before 1 April each year.