National Living Wage Introduced from April 2016

The Chancellor announced a new National Living Wage in the summer budget on 8 July 2015.

The new National Living Wage will be introduced in April 2016 and will apply to all employees over the age of 25. The introductory rate will be £7.20 per hour and that is set to rise to £9 an hour by 2020.

Future Increases

From 1 October 2016 the rates for the national minimum wage will rise as follows (figures in brackets show the current rate):

• Workers aged 21 to 24 over: £6.95 (£6.70)
• Workers aged 18 to 20: £5.55 (£5.30)
• Young workers (16 to 17): £4.00 (£3.87)
• Apprenticeship rate: £3.40 (£3.30)

The new National Living Wage, for workers aged 25 and over, will not change in October 2016.

From April 2017 all NMW rates including the national living wage will be uprated at the same time.

The Government made it clear that it intends the Living Wage rate to reach 60% of median earnings by 2020, which should put it at in excess of £9 per hour.

Updated: 23 March 2016

Date Published: September 2014

The National Minimum Wage rates applicable from 1 October 2015 are as follows:

• The main (adult) rate of the national minimum wage rises from £6.50 to £6.70 per hour.
• The youth rate (for workers who are aged 18 but under 21) increases from £5.13 to £5.30 per hour.
• The rate for workers aged 16 to 17 increases from £3.79 to £3.89 per hour.
• The apprentice rate increases from £2.68 to £3.30 per hour.

The Apprentice Rate applies to apprentices aged from 16 to 18 inclusive. Those who have reached their 19th birthday and are in their first year of an apprenticeship also receive the apprentice rate of pay. All other apprentices are entitled to the National Minimum Wage for their age.

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