Answers · UK 2025/26

What are the National Minimum Wage rates by age in 2026?

For 2026/27, the National Living Wage (age 21 and over) is £12.71 an hour. The 18-20 development rate is £10.85, the rate for 16-17 year olds and apprentices is £8.00. Apprentices under 19, or 19+ in their first year, are entitled to the apprentice rate regardless of their age.

Last updated: 1 July 2026Last reviewed: 1 July 2026How we verify

Full answer

The National Minimum Wage operates through a series of age-based and status-based bands, with the top rate now called the National Living Wage after it was extended down to age 21 in recent years. **The 2026/27 rate bands** - **National Living Wage (age 21 and over)**: £12.71 an hour -- this is now the top rate, having been extended to cover 21-22 year olds in a previous reform (it used to apply only from age 23) - **18-20 development rate**: £10.85 an hour - **16-17 year olds**: £8.00 an hour - **Apprentice rate**: £8.00 an hour -- this applies to apprentices under 19, or apprentices aged 19 and over who are in the first year of their apprenticeship **How the apprentice rate works alongside age** An apprentice's rate depends on both their age and how far into their apprenticeship they are. An apprentice under 19 gets the apprentice rate regardless of how long they have been in the apprenticeship. An apprentice aged 19 or over gets the apprentice rate ONLY for their first year -- once they pass their first anniversary on the apprenticeship, they move up to whichever standard age-band rate applies to them (e.g. the 18-20 rate, or the National Living Wage if they are 21+), even if they have not yet completed the apprenticeship. **Worked example** A 22-year-old starting an apprenticeship is entitled to the apprentice rate (£8.00) for their first 12 months, since they are within their first year of the apprenticeship, even though their age alone would otherwise put them in the National Living Wage band. After 12 months, because they are now over 19 and past their first year, they move up to the full National Living Wage rate of £12.71 an hour for the remainder of the apprenticeship (and beyond, once qualified). **Accommodation offset** Where an employer provides living accommodation to a worker, they can only count a limited daily amount (£11.10 a day for 2026/27) toward the worker's minimum wage pay when accommodation is provided -- charging more than this offset amount for accommodation, or deducting more than this from wages for it, without the excess being covered separately from pay that still meets minimum wage after the deduction, can result in a minimum wage underpayment even if the hourly cash rate paid looks compliant on paper. **Why compliance is tightly enforced** HMRC actively investigates and 'names and shames' employers found to have underpaid the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage, including common errors such as incorrectly applying an apprentice or development rate to someone who has aged out of it, failing to pay for all working time (such as mandatory training or travel between appointments), or making unlawful deductions (like uniform costs) that take effective pay below the legal minimum -- both underpayment and technical rate-band errors can trigger back-pay liabilities and penalties even where clearly unintentional.