UNITED KINGDOM
UK Minimum Wage From 1 April 2026: National Living Wage £12.71
Last verified 18 April 2026
ALL RATES FROM 1 APRIL 2026
| Category | Hourly Rate | Annual (37.5 hrs) | Uplift |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Living Wage (aged 21 and over) | £12.71 | £24,784.50 | +4.1% |
| National Minimum Wage (aged 18 to 20) | £10.85 | £21,157.50 | +8.5% |
| National Minimum Wage (aged 16 to 17) | £8.00 | £15,600.00 | +6.0% |
| Apprentice rate | £8.00 | £15,600.00 | +6.0% |
Annual figures based on 37.5 hours per week, 52 weeks. Source: Low Pay Commission October 2025 recommendation; UK Government Autumn Budget 2025.
Apprentice Rate: Who It Applies To
The apprentice rate of £8.00 per hour applies if you are an apprentice who is either:
- Under 19 years old (regardless of your year of apprenticeship), or
- Aged 19 or over AND in the first year of your current apprenticeship.
Once an apprentice is both 19 or over and has completed their first year, they are entitled to the age-appropriate National Minimum Wage rate: £12.71 if aged 21 or over, £10.85 if aged 18 to 20. An apprentice who turns 21 mid-way through their second year is entitled to £12.71 from their 21st birthday.
Apprenticeships must be real apprenticeships registered with the Education and Skills Funding Agency (England), Skills Funding Agency (Wales), or equivalent in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Calling an employee an "apprentice" on a contract does not automatically qualify them for the apprentice rate; the employment must be a genuine approved programme.
Accommodation Offset: £11.10/Day from 1 April 2026
Employers who provide accommodation for workers may deduct accommodation costs from wages when calculating minimum wage compliance, but only up to the accommodation offset rate. From 1 April 2026 that rate is £11.10 per day (up from £10.66).
In practice: if an employer deducts £15/day for accommodation from a worker earning £12.71/hour, the excess deduction (£15 minus £11.10 = £3.90/day) is treated as a deduction that reduces the worker's minimum wage entitlement. If that reduction causes effective hourly pay to fall below £12.71, the employer is in breach of the National Minimum Wage Act.
What Counts as Working Time for UK Minimum Wage Purposes?
COUNTS AS WORKING TIME
- Time spent at the workplace doing your job
- Mandatory training time (including induction)
- Travel between work sites (not first site of the day)
- Standby or on-call time at employer-designated location
- Time spent waiting for work at the employer's request
- Travelling to a place other than your regular workplace if required by employer
DOES NOT COUNT
- Commuting to and from your regular workplace
- Breaks where you are genuinely free of responsibilities
- Voluntary additional training outside agreed hours
- Sleep-in shifts where you are permitted to sleep (post-Mencap 2021)
- Travel during sleep-in shifts unless awoken to work
Zero-Hours Contracts and HMRC Enforcement
The National Minimum Wage applies to every hour worked on a zero-hours contract without exception. Zero-hours contracts do not create a lower tier of wage entitlement. If you worked 12 hours in a week on a zero-hours contract, your employer owes you at least £12.71 x 12 = £152.52 (if you are 21 or over) regardless of whether you were offered fewer hours the following week.
HMRC enforces the National Minimum Wage through the National Minimum Wage team within HMRC. Enforcement routes:
- Phone: 0300 123 1100 (complaints helpline, available in Welsh on request)
- Online complaint form via gov.uk
- Anonymous complaints are accepted
On finding a violation, HMRC issues a Notice of Underpayment requiring the employer to repay arrears and pay a civil penalty. The penalty is 200 percent of the arrears, capped at £20,000 per worker. Persistent underpayers are publicly named on the HMRC naming scheme (published twice per year). Criminal prosecution remains possible for the most serious cases.
How UK Minimum Wage Rates Are Set
The Low Pay Commission (LPC), an independent advisory body of employer representatives, worker representatives, and academic economists, reviews evidence annually and makes recommendations to the government each autumn. The government is not legally bound to accept the LPC's recommendations but has accepted them every year since 1998.
The typical timeline: LPC consultation runs spring to summer; LPC report published in October alongside the Autumn Budget; government confirms rates; new rates take effect 1 April of the following year. This means the April 2027 rate will be confirmed in Autumn Budget 2026.
The current government has committed to a long-term goal of a "genuine living wage for all adults" which involves gradually phasing out the lower youth bands. The most recent step was lowering the adult (NLW) age threshold from 23 to 21 in April 2024. Further convergence of age bands is expected over the next parliament.
IMPORTANT DISTINCTION
Government NLW vs Living Wage Foundation Rate
The government's National Living Wage (£12.71) and the Living Wage Foundation's voluntary Real Living Wage (£13.45 UK / £14.80 London for 2025/26) are different numbers from different bodies. The government's NLW is a legal minimum enforced by HMRC. The Living Wage Foundation rate is voluntary -- no employer is required to pay it, but over 14,000 UK employers have chosen to become accredited Living Wage employers.
Full comparison: legal minimum vs voluntary living wage (UK and US) →