What is the minimum wage from April 2027?

From 1 April 2027 the National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over is £13.21 an hour. Workers aged 18 to 20 get £11.27, and 16 to 17-year-olds and apprentices get £8.31.

What is the National Living Wage now?

£12.71 an hour for workers aged 21 and over, from 1 April 2026. It rises to £13.21 on 1 April 2027.

How much is £13.21 an hour a year?

On a full-time 37.5-hour week, £13.21 an hour is £25,759.50 a year before tax. On a 40-hour week it is £27,476.80 a year.

What is the minimum wage for an 18-year-old in 2027?

£11.27 an hour from 1 April 2027, up from £10.85. On a 37.5-hour week that is £21,976.50 a year.

What is the apprentice minimum wage in 2027?

£8.31 an hour from 1 April 2027, for apprentices under 19 or in the first year of their apprenticeship. After that, the rate for their age applies.

Is the National Living Wage the same as the real Living Wage?

No. The National Living Wage is the legal minimum (£13.21 from April 2027). The real Living Wage is a voluntary rate set by the Living Wage Foundation — £14.10 an hour outside London and £15.45 in London for 2026/27.

Minimum Wage 2027

TL;DR: The National Living Wage rises to £13.21 an hour from 1 April 2027 (up 50p, +3.9%), announced in the Autumn Budget on 28 October 2026. Workers aged 18–20 go to £11.27 and 16–17-year-olds and apprentices to £8.31. On a full-time 37.5-hour week, the 2027 rate is worth £25,759.50 a year — £975 more than today.

What will you earn?

Your age group Hours per week: 37.5

Gross pay before tax and National Insurance. The new rates apply from the first pay reference period beginning on or after 1 April 2027.

Minimum wage rates: now vs 1 April 2027

Age or category	Now (from 1 Apr 2026)	From 1 Apr 2027	Rise	Full-time year (37.5 hrs)
21 and over (National Living Wage)	£12.71	£13.21	+50p (+3.9%)	£25,759.50
18 to 20	£10.85	£11.27	+42p (+3.9%)	£21,976.50
16 to 17 and apprentices	£8.00	£8.31	+31p (+3.9%)	£16,204.50

All four rates rise by the same 3.9%. The accommodation offset — the most an employer can deduct for housing — rises to £11.53 a day from April 2027.

What the rise is worth

For a full-time worker aged 21 or over on a 37.5-hour week, the 50p rise adds £975 a year (£24,784.50 to £25,759.50). On a 40-hour week it adds £1,040 a year. Remember that income tax thresholds are frozen, so some of the rise is taxed at 20% — check your own figure on the Take Home Pay Calculator.

Who gets which rate?

National Living Wage (21+) — the legal minimum for workers aged 21 and over. It is different from the voluntary “real Living Wage” set by the Living Wage Foundation (£14.10 an hour outside London and £15.45 in London for 2026/27).
18 to 20 rate — for workers aged 18, 19 and 20.
16 to 17 rate — for workers under 18 who are no longer of compulsory school age.
Apprentice rate — for apprentices under 19, or in the first year of an apprenticeship if aged 19 or over. After that, the age rate applies.

What if you are paid less?

It is against the law to pay below the minimum wage for your age. If you think you are underpaid, check your payslip against the rates above, keep records of your hours, and contact Acas or HMRC. Workers can be owed arrears, and employers can be fined.

Sources: Low Pay Commission recommendations; Autumn Budget 2026 (28 October 2026, Chancellor John Healey); GOV.UK “National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates”. Checked 13 November 2026. Some Budget measures still need to pass through Parliament.

Important: Everything on this site is general information for planning purposes only. It is not professional financial advice, not tax advice, and not a substitute for advice from a qualified adviser. Rates and thresholds are for the UK tax year 2026/27 (6 April 2026 – 5 April 2027) unless stated otherwise, and can change. Figures are estimates — your actual pay depends on your tax code, pension scheme, student loan plan and other deductions. Check the current figures on GOV.UK or speak to a qualified adviser before acting.