Rates by age and apprentices
Minimum wage at 19: the 18 to 20 rate or the apprentice rate
Enter your age, the date your apprenticeship started and your weekly hours: the tool shows the minimum now and after the first year.
Apprentice minimum: first year and after
Minimum at the start
£8.00
| First year ends | 31 August 2027 |
| From 1 September 2027 | £11.27 (National Minimum Wage (18 to 20)) |
| Weekly pay at the start | £240 |
| Weekly pay after year one | £338.10 |
After year one, an apprentice aged 19 or over moves to the rate for their age; under 19 stays on the apprentice rate. Age a year on is assumed one year older.
At 19 the legal minimum depends on one question: are you an apprentice in the first year of your apprenticeship? If not, you are owed the 18 to 20 rate, £10.85 an hour from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. If you are an apprentice aged 19 in the first year with your current employer, the apprentice rate applies, £8.00 an hour, £2.85 less. Once a 19 year old apprentice has completed that first year, the rate for their age applies from the first pay reference period that begins on or after the 19th birthday or the end of the first year. On 30 hours a week the difference between the two rates is £85.50 a week. Under the rates announced on 28 October 2026 for April 2027, still to be set in regulations, the figures become £11.27 and £8.31. Being 19 rather than 18 brings no rise for other workers: both ages share one band until the National Living Wage starts at 21.
Minimum wage per week, month and year
Legal minimum per hour
£10.85
| Rate that applies | National Minimum Wage (18 to 20) |
| Per week | £406.88 |
| Per month | £1,763.13 |
| Per year (52 weeks) | £21,157.50 |
Rates and rules read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
Three situations at 19
The GOV.UK rates page and HMRC's eligibility guidance give the rule in two lines: the apprentice rate applies to apprentices under 19, and to apprentices aged 19 or over in the first year of their apprenticeship. Everyone else is owed the rate for their age.
| At 19, you are | Until 31 March 2027 | From 1 April 2027 (announced) | Rate that applies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Not an apprentice | £10.85 | £11.27 | 18 to 20 |
| An apprentice in the first year | £8.00 | £8.31 | Apprentice |
| An apprentice past the first year | £10.85 | £11.27 | 18 to 20 |
The first year is counted with the current employer. Twelve months after the start date it is over, and a 19 year old moves to the age rate from the next pay reference period that begins after that point.
Two apprentices, two different dates
Mia began an apprenticeship at 17, in September 2025. Her first year ended in August 2026, while she was still 18, so she stayed on £8.00, as every apprentice under 19 does. She turns 19 on 10 March 2027. Paid monthly from the 1st, she moves to £10.85 from 1 April 2027, the same day the April 2027 rates are due to start, which would take her straight to £11.27 once those rates are in force.
Leo is the opposite case. He turned 19 in May 2026 while working in a shop on £10.85, then started an apprenticeship with a new employer on 1 September 2026. As a first-year apprentice he can lawfully be paid £8.00 until 31 August 2027. From the first pay period starting on or after 1 September 2027 he is owed the 18 to 20 rate in force then, £11.27 under the announced figures.
Your rise on 1 April 2027
More per week from 1 April 2027
£9.30
| Today | £8.00 an hour |
| From 1 April 2027 | £8.31 an hour |
| Rise | 3.9% |
| More per year | £483.60 |
Same age and apprenticeship on both dates. A birthday before April moves you into the next band sooner.
What a week is worth at 19
The table sets the two rates side by side for common patterns of hours under the April 2026 figures. The gap is what a first year of apprenticeship costs a 19 year old compared with an ordinary job, before any pay the employer chooses to add above the minimum.
| Hours a week | Not an apprentice | First-year apprentice | Gap over 52 weeks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | £217 | £160 | £2,964 |
| 30 | £325.50 | £240 | £4,446 |
| 37.5 | £406.88 | £300 | £5,557.50 |
| 40 | £434 | £320 | £5,928 |
Apprentices are paid for their training as well as their work: time spent on off-the-job training that is part of the apprenticeship counts as working time and must be paid at least the rate that applies, as the GOV.UK page for apprentices confirms.
Mistakes HMRC finds with apprentices of this age
HMRC says that the wrong use of the apprentice rate is a common reason for underpayment. The cases it lists fit the age of 19 closely:
- keeping an apprentice aged 19 or over on the apprentice rate after the first year is complete;
- paying the apprentice rate to a worker who is not an apprentice, when calling someone an apprentice is not enough;
- not paying for time spent in training, on or off the job, including English and maths;
- paying the apprentice rate before the apprenticeship starts or after it ends.
Each of these leaves arrears, owed at the rate in force when they are repaid. A 19 year old who spots one can raise it with the employer, call Acas on 0300 123 1100 or use the official complaint form. The page on pay after the first year goes through the move in more detail.