How much are the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage worth?

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced the minimum wage will rise next April as part of efforts to tackle the cost of living in her Budget.

There will be an increase in the salary packages of about 2.7 million employees.

The minimum rate for workers aged 21 and over is called the National Living Wage, while those aged 18 to 20 are paid the National Minimum Wage.

Pay rates are set each year by the government on the advice of an independent group, the Low Pay Commission, and apply across the UK.

From April 2025, the National Living Wage is set to rise to £12.21 an hour for workers aged 21 and over.

This will rise to £12.71 for those workers in April 2026.

For someone working full-time (37.5 hours a week), this equates to £24,784.50, or an increase of £900 from last year.

Younger workers – those aged between 16 and 20 – are entitled to receive the national minimum wage.

On 1 April, the rate for 18–20 year olds increased by 16.3% from £8.60 to £10 an hour. Next April it will rise by 8.5% to £10.85.

The increase would be equivalent to £1,500 a year for a full-time employee.

The government said its aim is to eventually eliminate this separate rate for 18-20 year olds and have one rate for all adults.

The minimum wage for 16- and 17-year-olds is currently £7.55 an hour. This will rise by 6% to £8 an hour in April.

There are different rates of pay for apprentices depending on your age and what stage of your apprenticeship you are at.

Apprentices aged 16 to 18 are entitled to the national minimum wage rate for that age group which is £7.55.

This will rise to £8 in April.

Those who are 19 years of age or in their first year of apprenticeship are paid the same amount.

But those over the age of 19 – or who have already completed their first year – are entitled to the national minimum wage or the national living wage rate appropriate for their age.

Some workers are not eligible for the national minimum wage or the national living wage.

This includes the self-employed, company directors, volunteers, members of the armed forces and prisoners.

People with disabilities or long-term unemployment who participate in government work programs are paid fixed amounts of money at different stages of the scheme.

These are lower than the equivalent national minimum or subsistence rate.

Yes. It is a criminal offense if employers do not pay eligible workers the correct national minimum and living wage.

The rates apply to employees even if they are not paid hourly.

If you feel you have been paid incorrectly, you can complain via the HMRC website.

You can also get advice from workplace experts Acas.

The Real Living Wage is an informal hourly rate of pay maintained by the Living Wage Foundation charity.

It is aimed at UK workers aged 18 and over, but it is voluntary and companies can choose whether they want to pay for it or not. Salary increases every October.

According to the charity around 500,000 staff working in more than 16,000 firms receive the voluntary pay rate.

From October 2025, this means workers in London earn at least £14.80 an hour – the London Living Wage – up by 95p, an increase of 5.3%.

In the rest of the UK, the rate rose 85p to £13.45, an increase of 6.7%.

The Living Wage Foundation says this rate is £2,418 a year more than the legal minimum wage in the UK, and £5,050 more than that in London.