The national minimum wage and living wage is going up this April. Here is all the information you need to stay up to date with the National Minimum Wage changes coming this April.

What is National Minimum Wage and Living Wage?

In the UK we use the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage system to pay people, some factors like age and type of employment affect this total too. The government provides guidance on what these rates are and where they apply. To best understand National Minimum Wage you can check the governments website for the current National Minimum Wage and Living Wage rates for all age brackets.

National Living Wage

The National Living Wage is a separate system to the Minimum Wage system, as it applies to a higher age bracket. This was changed in April of 2021 which we’ll go in to further down. Apprenticeships also operate on a separate system for their first year.The National Living Wage, from April will apply to 23 and up opposed to the current 25 and up. This applies to anyone not in their first year of an apprenticeship. From April 2021 the National Living Wage for ages 23 and up was set at £8.91.

The minimum for those in their first year of an apprenticeship from April 2021 was £4.30 per hour.

What are the April 2021 rates?

For now, the rates apply until April this year in which they will change to the National Minimum Wage set out for for 2021. As this is an important area to understand. We’ve put together what the current rates of pay are for the UK.

Age: Pay:

16-17 £4.62

18-20 £6.56

21-22 £8.36

What are the new rates from April 2022?

Although subject to change until it’s implementation, we’ve had it confirmed so far by members of government. As Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed, the rates from April 2022 will change on the 1^st of April to:

Apprentices  £4.30 to £4.81

Under 18’s  £4.62 to £4.81

18’s to 20’s  £6.56 to £6.83

21’s to 22’s  £8.36 to £9.18

The National Living wage for 23 and up will change to: £8.91 to £9.50.

These changes will go in to effect from the 1^st of April 2022 onward. The government is offering guidance and support to businesses looking for support with updating their pay to match the new guidelines set out by the government.  National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage will be paid to all people under most circumstances, whether they work part or full time, from home or at a site. It’s an enforced standard that most businesses do a good and timely job of responding to changes from.

HtE Recruitment News & Insights

This news and insights page has been written by Josh our Marketing Coordinator. Rates of pay quoted is correct on 03/02/22 and the rates do change each year. HtE Recruitment take no responsibility for this post.