Last updated: 18 October 2026
If you are a worker, you must be paid at least the minimum wage for your age. The minimum and living wage changes for 2026 took effect on 1 April 2026. There are two legal minimums: the National Living Wage (NLW) and the National Minimum Wage (NMW).
From 1 April 2026 the National Living Wage rose by 4.1% to £12.71 an hour, and the rate for 18 to 20 year olds rose by 8.5% to £10.85 as the government moves towards a single adult rate. Here are the details employers need to know.
What’s the National Living Wage?
The National Living Wage is the legal minimum hourly rate for workers aged 21 and over. The age threshold was lowered from 23 to 21 on 1 April 2024, as the government announced. From 1 April 2026 the NLW is £12.71 an hour, up from £12.21.
What’s the National Minimum Wage?
The National Minimum Wage applies to workers who are too young for the National Living Wage but above school leaving age. The NMW rates from 1 April 2026 apply to workers aged:
- 16 and 17: £8.00 an hour
- 18 to 20: £10.85 an hour
The government has said it intends to remove the separate 18 to 20 rate in future, so that all adult workers get the National Living Wage.
Let’s Understand the Apprentices
There is a separate apprentice rate, which is £8.00 an hour from 1 April 2026. It applies to apprentices aged under 19, and to apprentices aged 19 or over in the first year of their apprenticeship. After that, apprentices must be paid the NMW or NLW for their age. Remember that wages and employer’s National Insurance are deductible for your business, which reduces your profits taxed at the Corporation Tax rate.
Let’s Figure Out Accommodation Offset
If you provide a worker with accommodation, you can count part of its value towards their minimum wage. This is the accommodation offset. From 1 April 2026 it is £11.10 for each day accommodation is provided, up to a maximum of £77.70 a week. If you charge more than this for accommodation, the excess reduces the worker’s pay for minimum wage purposes.
Here are the rates from 1 April 2026, with the previous year’s rates for comparison:
| Rate | From 1 April 2025 | From 1 April 2026 |
| NLW: workers aged 21 and over | £12.21 per hour | £12.71 per hour |
| NMW: workers aged 18 to 20 | £10.00 per hour | £10.85 per hour |
| NMW: workers aged 16 and 17 | £7.55 per hour | £8.00 per hour |
| NMW: apprentice rate | £7.55 per hour | £8.00 per hour |
| Accommodation offset | £10.66 per day (£74.62 per week) | £11.10 per day (£77.70 per week) |
How to Check if You’re Paying the Correct Rates
If you are an employer, check that every worker on or near the minimum was paid at least the new rate from the first pay reference period starting on or after 1 April 2026. Remember to move workers onto a higher rate when they have a birthday that takes them into a new age band, and when an apprentice finishes their first year or turns 19.
Deductions for uniforms, tools or accommodation above the offset can take pay below the minimum, so check these too. HMRC enforces the minimum wage and can demand arrears, impose penalties of up to 200% of the underpayment and publicly name employers.
The rates usually change every April, so check GOV.UK each year or use HMRC’s National Minimum Wage calculator.
Disclaimer: All the information in this article on minimum and living wage changes, including text and graphics, is general in nature and does not replace professional advice.
