What are the National Minimum Wage rates for 2026/27?
The rates from April 2026
| Band | Hourly rate |
|---|---|
| 21 and over (National Living Wage) | £12.71 |
| 18 to 20 | £10.85 |
| Under 18 | £8.00 |
| Apprentice | £8.00 |
The year before, the top rate was £12.21, so this April’s rise was 50p an hour, about £1,000 a year for a full-time worker. The rates change every April. If you have staff, the first payroll of April is the moment to check them, not the first complaint.
The apprentice rule that catches people
The £8.00 apprentice rate applies only to apprentices under 19, or apprentices of any age in the first year of their apprenticeship. A 21-year-old apprentice in year one gets £8.00; the day they move into year two, they are entitled to £12.71. Miss that birthday-of-the-training and you are underpaying.
What it costs in practice
A 22-year-old working 37.5 hours a week at £12.71 earns about £24,784 a year. As the employer you also pay 15% National Insurance on earnings above £5,000, roughly £2,968 on that salary, before pension and other costs.
Getting it wrong
HMRC enforces the minimum wage. Underpay and you must repay arrears worked out at the current rate, not the rate at the time, which makes old underpayments more expensive than they look. On top of that comes a penalty of up to 200% of the arrears, capped at £20,000 per worker. Pay up within 14 days of the notice and the penalty halves.
The common traps are not the headline rate. They are unpaid trial shifts, deductions for uniforms that pull pay below the line, time spent opening up or closing down, and apprentices ageing out of the apprentice rate.
Sources
All pages checked 20 October 2026.
- National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates: https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates
- Enforcing the minimum wage: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/calculating-the-minimum-wage/enforcing-the-minimum-wage
- Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rates-and-thresholds-for-employers-2026-to-2027
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