National Living Wage increases to £12.71 per hour

Increased rates of the National Minimum Wage, including the National Living wage came into force from 1 April 2026. These rates bring into effect recommendations made by the Low Pay Commission last autumn.

The new rates are set out in the table below.

Baroness Philippa Stroud, Chair of the Low Pay Commission, said:

The recommendations we made last autumn sought to balance the need to protect the economy and labour market, whilst providing a real-terms increase for the lowest-paid members of society.

A lot has changed since we gave our advice to the Government last autumn, and we are now beginning to gather evidence for recommendations later this year. The current economic uncertainty makes it essential that the Commission hears from those affected by the minimum wage and builds consensus for evidence-based recommendations.

To mark the uprating, the Low Pay Commission has published a report looking at the immediate impacts of the new rates. It has also published a consultation to inform its recommendations on future minimum wage rates.

Usdaw has welcomed a much-needed above-inflation 4.1% increase in the main minimum wage rate, which comes into force tomorrow, along with a significantly higher increase for younger workers. The union says this takes the so-called National Living Wage closer to the real Living Wage and helps close the gap on age-related pay.

Joanne Thomas – Usdaw general secretary said:

Usdaw very much welcomes these significant above-inflation increases for the lowest paid. We are pleased that Labour’s remit for the Low Pay Commission has resulted in progress towards delivering a statutory real Living Wage and ending rip-off youth rates. Labour is also delivering the new deal for workers that Usdaw long campaigned for.

The Employment Rights Act is the biggest uplift in workers’ rights in a generation and delivers on many of the campaigns Usdaw has been running over the years. Retail employment is notoriously dogged by precarious employment practices and many retail workers absolutely rely on basic employment rights, particularly with non-unionised employers. So, the Act is very important to staff and crucially helps to protect decent employers from being undercut by the worst who exploit workers.

Tackling precarious employment is good for the economy, growth and individual workers who should have the decency of a wage that they can live off. Too many of our key workers are in low-paid, insecure work. They deserve more than being applauded in a pandemic; basic employment rights enforceable by law are the least the nation can do for these heroes who do so much for society and our communities. Boris Johnson promised to ‘build back better’ after the pandemic and failed, but Labour is now doing just that.

So ending exploitative zero-hours contracts; the right to a contract that reflects normal hours worked; proper notice of shift changes; Statutory Sick Pay available to all from day one; protecting workers from unfair dismissal, redundancy or fire and rehire; helping parents and carers with their work/life balance; protecting workers from customer harassment, violence, threats and abuse; ensuring minimum wage rates keep pace with the cost of living; and working towards paying the adult rate at 18 are all crucial changes that are now being delivered by this Government.

We now call on the Government to continue to make progress with ending rip-off youth rates which allow employers to pay young workers less for doing the same job, and to fully deliver on the Plan to Make Work Pay as the Employment Rights Act is implemented.

Rachel Harrison, GMB National Secretary, said:

A wage rise for millions of the lowest paid workers – including hundreds of thousands of young people – is exactly what this country needs. Putting more cash in people’s pockets is the best way to ease the cost of living crisis and grow the economy.