Minimum Wage 2026 UK: National Living Wage Rates by Age

From 1 April 2026, the National Living Wage is £12.71 an hour for workers aged 21 and over, the National Minimum Wage is £10.85 for workers aged 18 to 20 and £8.00 for workers under 18, and the apprentice rate is £8.00 an hour.

Minimum wage rates in force from 1 April 2026

Source: gov.uk: National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates.

The apprentice rate

Apprentices are entitled to the apprentice rate of £8.00 an hour if they are either under 19, or 19 or over and still in the first year of their apprenticeship. An apprentice aged 19 or over who has completed the first year of their apprenticeship is no longer paid the apprentice rate; they move onto the minimum wage rate for their age band instead (gov.uk: minimum wage rates).

The accommodation offset

Where an employer provides living accommodation, it is allowed to count some of the value of that accommodation against the worker's minimum wage pay. From 1 April 2026, the maximum offset is £11.10 a day, or £77.70 a week (gov.uk: minimum wage accommodation offset). An employer that deducts, or charges, more than this for accommodation and thereby brings the worker's effective pay below the minimum wage is underpaying the minimum wage, even if the worker's headline pay rate looks correct on paper.

Who is entitled to the minimum wage

Minimum wage law protects people classed as workers. To get the National Minimum Wage a person must be at least school leaving age; to get the National Living Wage they must be 21 or over. Gov.uk confirms that part time staff, casual labourers, agency workers, homeworkers, apprentices and trainees, disabled workers, agricultural workers, foreign workers, seafarers, offshore workers and au pairs who are not a member of the employer's family are all workers for this purpose (gov.uk: who gets the minimum wage).

Who does not get the minimum wage

Some categories are not entitled to the minimum wage at all, because they do not count as a worker for this purpose, or because a specific exception applies. Gov.uk lists:

• Self employed people running their own business
• Company directors who do not also have an employment contract or a contract personally to perform work for the company
• Volunteers and voluntary workers
• Workers on certain government employment programmes, including pre-apprenticeship schemes
• Members of the armed forces
• Family members of the employer who live in the employer's home
• Workers who are younger than school leaving age
• Students on work experience as part of a higher or further education course, for up to one year
• People shadowing someone else at work
• Participants on certain EU programmes, such as Leonardo da Vinci, Erasmus+ or Comenius
• People on a Jobcentre Plus Work trial, for up to six weeks
• Share fishermen
• Prisoners
• People living and working in a religious community

(Source: gov.uk: who gets the minimum wage.)

Northern Ireland: the same national rates, plus its own Agricultural Minimum Wage

The minimum wage is a reserved matter, so Northern Ireland is not a separate rate area. Nidirect's rate table shows the same April 2026 rates of £12.71, £10.85, £8.00 and the £8.00 apprentice rate (nidirect: National Minimum Wage and Living Wage).

Northern Ireland also has its own Agricultural Minimum Wage, set by the Agricultural Wages Board for Northern Ireland (Wales and Scotland run separate agricultural wage schemes of their own; see gov.uk: agricultural workers' rights). Under Agricultural Wages Board for Northern Ireland Order No. 106, agreed 27 February 2026 and effective from the first pay reference period beginning on or after 1 April 2026, agricultural workers in Northern Ireland are paid on a grade scale:

This scale acts as a floor, not a ceiling: DAERA's announcement of the Order states that if the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage becomes higher than the equivalent grade rate, the higher NMW or NLW rate applies instead. DAERA's announcement says overtime for these agricultural grades is now paid at the same hourly rate as normal hours, and that the accommodation offset for agricultural workers covered by the Order rises to £60.00 a week, separate from the general £77.70 a week figure above (source: DAERA: pay increase for agricultural workers).

What happens on 1 April 2027

The rate that will apply from 1 April 2027 has not been set. The Low Pay Commission, the independent body that recommends minimum wage rates to government each year, has been asked to make its recommendation for April 2027 by October 2026 (gov.uk: Low Pay Commission remit 2026). As of this page's last verification, that recommendation had not been published (gov.uk: Low Pay Commission). Once government responds, usually around the Autumn Budget, the confirmed rate is normally announced several months ahead of the 1 April effective date. Check the gov.uk minimum wage rates page directly for the current figure once it is confirmed; this page states only the rates in force from 1 April 2026 above.

How to complain about being underpaid

A worker who thinks they are being paid below the minimum wage should start by raising it with their employer, and can ask in writing to see their payment records. If that does not resolve it, there are two free routes:

• Call the confidential Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, for advice on a pay dispute.
• Report it to HM Revenue and Customs using its online complaint form. A worker can also complain on behalf of someone else.

Gov.uk states that HMRC enforces the minimum wage on behalf of the Fair Work Agency, the new enforcement body that launched on 7 April 2026 for a defined set of labour market functions. The Fair Work Agency has had legal responsibility for minimum wage enforcement since 7 April 2026, and HMRC carries it out for the agency under contract; the agency's 2026 to 2027 delivery plan says full transfer of that work is planned from April 2027. For now, treat HMRC as the point of contact for a complaint (gov.uk: Fair Work Agency delivery plan 2026 to 2027). A worker dismissed because of a minimum wage dispute can also complain to an employment tribunal for unfair dismissal (source: gov.uk: worker disputes over minimum wage).

For the wider UK employment law hub, see the full list of employer and employee topics. For the standard employment tribunal process and its time limits, see employment tribunal and employment tribunal time limits.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the minimum wage in the UK from April 2026?

From 1 April 2026 it is £12.71 an hour for workers aged 21 and over (the National Living Wage), £10.85 for workers aged 18 to 20, £8.00 for workers under 18, and £8.00 for apprentices who qualify for the apprentice rate.

What is the difference between the National Minimum Wage and the National Living Wage?

The National Living Wage is simply the name for the minimum wage rate paid to workers aged 21 and over. Workers under 21 are paid the National Minimum Wage rate for their age band instead.

Do apprentices get the minimum wage?

Apprentices under 19, or 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship, get the apprentice rate. An apprentice aged 19 or over who has finished the first year is paid the normal minimum wage rate for their age instead.

Can my employer deduct pay for accommodation it provides?

Yes. An employer can charge for accommodation, but only a set amount counts towards minimum wage pay. From 1 April 2026, an accommodation charge up to £11.10 a day or £77.70 a week does not affect minimum wage pay. Anything charged above that is taken off the pay that counts for the minimum wage, so it is an underpayment if it takes the worker's pay below the minimum rate.

Is the minimum wage the same in Northern Ireland?

Yes, the standard rates are identical because the minimum wage is a reserved, UK wide matter. Northern Ireland does have its own separate Agricultural Minimum Wage for agricultural workers, with its own grade scale, which the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage overrides whenever the standard rate is higher.

What will the minimum wage be from April 2027?

It has not been set yet. The Low Pay Commission is due to recommend a rate to government in October 2026, and the confirmed figure is normally announced later, ahead of the 1 April effective date. Check gov.uk for the current confirmed rate.

How do I report an employer who is not paying the minimum wage?

Raise it with the employer first. If that does not work, call the Acas helpline for advice, or report the employer to HM Revenue and Customs using its online complaint form.