Minimum wage rates
Minimum wage history: every rate since April 2019
Pick a year and an age: the tool gives the legal rate then, today and from April 2027, and the rise in between.
Minimum wage then and now
Rate in April 2019 to March 2020
£8.21
| Band then | National Living Wage (25 and over) |
| Rate in April 2026 | £12.71 |
| Rate from April 2027 | £13.21 |
| Rise to April 2027 | 60.9% |
Since April 2019 the top rate of the minimum wage has risen from £8.21 to £12.71, and it will reach £13.21 on 1 April 2027, a rise of 61% over eight years. Three structures followed one another. Until March 2021 the National Living Wage applied from age 25, with a 21 to 24 band below it; from April 2021 to March 2024 it applied from 23, with a 21 to 22 band; since April 2024 it applies from 21, leaving three bands under it: 18 to 20, 16 to 17 and apprentices. The youngest bands rose fastest: the 18 to 20 rate went from £6.15 to £10.85, and the apprentice rate from £3.90 to £8.00, more than doubling. The accommodation offset went from £7.55 to £11.10 a day. Old rates still matter: an underpayment from a past year is repaid at today's rate for the same band.
Back pay owed for an underpayment
Owed if repaid now
£160.55
| Rate at the time | £9.50 |
| Rate today for that band | £12.71 |
| Owed if repaid from 1 April 2027 | £166.86 |
Underpayment ÷ rate at the time × current rate of the band you were in. Enter the age you were then.
Rates and rules read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
All rates by period
| Period | Top band | Second band | 18 to 20 | 16 to 17 | Apprentice |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2019 to March 2020 | 25 and over: £8.21 | 21 to 24: £7.70 | £6.15 | £4.35 | £3.90 |
| April 2020 to March 2021 | 25 and over: £8.72 | 21 to 24: £8.20 | £6.45 | £4.55 | £4.15 |
| April 2021 to March 2022 | 23 and over: £8.91 | 21 to 22: £8.36 | £6.56 | £4.62 | £4.30 |
| April 2022 to March 2023 | 23 and over: £9.50 | 21 to 22: £9.18 | £6.83 | £4.81 | £4.81 |
| April 2023 to March 2024 | 23 and over: £10.42 | 21 to 22: £10.18 | £7.49 | £5.28 | £5.28 |
| April 2024 to March 2025 | 21 and over: £11.44 | - | £8.60 | £6.40 | £6.40 |
| April 2025 to March 2026 | 21 and over: £12.21 | - | £10.00 | £7.55 | £7.55 |
| April 2026 to March 2027 | 21 and over: £12.71 | - | £10.85 | £8.00 | £8.00 |
| From April 2027 | 21 and over: £13.21 | - | £11.27 | £8.31 | £8.31 |
Three structures of age bands
April 2019 to March 2021: National Living Wage from 25. Workers aged 21 to 24 had their own band, £7.70 then £8.20. The gap with the top rate was £0.52 an hour in 2020.
April 2021 to March 2024: from 23. Workers aged 23 and 24 moved up to the top band in April 2021. A smaller 21 to 22 band remained: £8.36, £9.18, then £10.18, only £0.24 below the top rate by 2023.
Since April 2024: from 21. The 21 to 22 band disappeared and the National Living Wage of £11.44 applied from 21, a jump of 12.4% for workers aged 21 and 22. The government's remit keeps the aim of taking the age down to 18; the page on that aim follows where it stands.
Accommodation offset by year
| Period | Per day | Per week |
|---|---|---|
| April 2019 to March 2020 | £7.55 | £52.85 |
| April 2020 to March 2021 | £8.20 | £57.40 |
| April 2021 to March 2022 | £8.36 | £58.52 |
| April 2022 to March 2023 | £8.70 | £60.90 |
| April 2023 to March 2024 | £9.10 | £63.70 |
| April 2024 to March 2025 | £9.99 | £69.93 |
| April 2025 to March 2026 | £10.66 | £74.62 |
| April 2026 to March 2027 | £11.10 | £77.70 |
| From April 2027 | £11.53 | £80.71 |
Using an old rate for back pay
When an employer underpaid you in a past period, the law does not simply return the missing pounds. HMRC's guidance on enforcement sets a formula: divide the underpayment by the rate in force at the time, then multiply by today's rate for the band you were in then. If today's rate is lower, which has not happened since 2019, the original underpayment is repaid. One rule needs care: for pay periods starting on or after 1 April 2021, a worker who was then 23 or over is repaid at the current National Living Wage; for earlier periods, workers who were 23 or 24 count in the band below.
Minimum wage then and now
Rate in April 2024 to March 2025
£11.44
| Band then | National Living Wage (21 and over) |
| Rate in April 2026 | £12.71 |
| Rate from April 2027 | £13.21 |
| Rise to April 2027 | 15.5% |
Take £120 underpaid to a 24 year old in 2022, when the top rate of £9.50 applied to them. Repaid at today's £12.71, it is worth £160.55, and £166.86 if repaid after 1 April 2027. The arrears page explains the steps and the tool under the summary does the sum for any year.
Rises year by year at the top rate
- April 2020 to March 2021: £8.72, up 6.2% on the year before.
- April 2021 to March 2022: £8.91, up 2.2% on the year before.
- April 2022 to March 2023: £9.50, up 6.6% on the year before.
- April 2023 to March 2024: £10.42, up 9.7% on the year before.
- April 2024 to March 2025: £11.44, up 9.8% on the year before.
- April 2025 to March 2026: £12.21, up 6.7% on the year before.
- April 2026 to March 2027: £12.71, up 4.1% on the year before.
- From April 2027: £13.21, up 3.9% on the year before.
The largest rises came in April 2023 and April 2024, when the top rate went up by more than 9% in each year, while the smallest, 2.2%, came in April 2021, the year the age threshold fell to 23. The April 2027 rise of 3.9% is the second smallest of the period. Each rise follows the advice of the Low Pay Commission, as the page on how rates are set explains.