National Living Wage April 2027: £13.21 an Hour and the New Rates by Age

The National Living Wage (NLW), the legal minimum hourly pay for workers aged 21 and over in the UK, rises 3.9% to £13.21 from April 2027, up 50p from £12.71, according to the UK Government’s announcement on GOV.UK on Oct. 28, 2026. The 18-20 rate becomes £11.27 and the 16-17 and apprentice rates become £8.31. Below you will find every band side by side, what each pays per week and per year, and the rules that decide which rate applies.

What are the minimum wage rates from April 2027?

GOV.UK’s “Minimum wage rates for 2027” table lists a 3.9% rise for every band. The “now” column is the April 2026 rate from GOV.UK’s current rates page.

Band	Now (April 2026)	From April 2027	Rise	Change
National Living Wage (21 and over)	£12.71	£13.21	50p	3.9%
18-20	£10.85	£11.27	42p	3.9%
16-17	£8.00	£8.31	31p	3.9%
Apprentice	£8.00	£8.31	31p	3.9%
Accommodation offset (per day)	£11.10	£11.53	43p	3.9%

The rates for the year before that, April 2025 to March 2026, were £12.21 (21 and over), £10.00 (18-20) and £7.55 (under 18 and apprentices), according to GOV.UK.

When does the National Living Wage rise?

The Government’s press release says the increases take effect “from April 2027”. The Low Pay Commission (LPC), which advises ministers on the rates, wrote: “We recommend that the following rates apply from 1 April 2027:”. GOV.UK’s rates page says “The rates change on 1 April every year.” 1 April 2027 is a Thursday.

One note on the source: the effective-date sentence on the GOV.UK rates publication says “April 2026”. Its title, its table and the press release all say April 2027, so we read that sentence as a typo.

What does the new rate pay a week and a year?

We multiplied each hourly rate by the hours worked, and by 52 weeks for the year. The figures are gross pay at the minimum, before tax and National Insurance, and use unrounded weekly pay for the yearly total. The hours are examples, not a statement of any contract. The last column is the 2027 yearly pay minus the yearly pay at the April 2026 rate.

National Living Wage, age 21 and over (£13.21 against £12.71)

Hours a week	2027 weekly	2027 yearly	2026 yearly	Yearly rise
20	£264.20	£13,738.40	£13,218.40	£520.00
30	£396.30	£20,607.60	£19,827.60	£780.00
37.5	£495.38	£25,759.50	£24,784.50	£975.00
40	£528.40	£27,476.80	£26,436.80	£1,040.00

Ages 18 to 20 (£11.27 against £10.85)

Hours a week	2027 weekly	2027 yearly	2026 yearly	Yearly rise
20	£225.40	£11,720.80	£11,284.00	£436.80
30	£338.10	£17,581.20	£16,926.00	£655.20
37.5	£422.63	£21,976.50	£21,157.50	£819.00
40	£450.80	£23,441.60	£22,568.00	£873.60

Ages 16 to 17 and apprentices (£8.31 against £8.00)

Hours a week	2027 weekly	2027 yearly	2026 yearly	Yearly rise
20	£166.20	£8,642.40	£8,320.00	£322.40
30	£249.30	£12,963.60	£12,480.00	£483.60
37.5	£311.63	£16,204.50	£15,600.00	£604.50
40	£332.40	£17,284.80	£16,640.00	£644.80

Which rate applies to an apprentice?

According to GOV.UK, the apprentice rate applies to apprentices “aged under 19”, or “aged 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship”. An apprentice outside those two groups gets the rate for their age. From April 2027 the apprentice rate is £8.31, the same as the 16-17 rate.

What is the accommodation offset?

The accommodation offset rises from £11.10 a day to £11.53 a day, GOV.UK says. The April 2026 weekly figure is £77.70. GOV.UK had not published a weekly figure for April 2027 when we checked on Nov. 4, 2026, so we do not give one.

How is the Real Living Wage different?

The Living Wage Foundation announced a Real Living Wage of £14.10 an hour across the UK and £15.45 in London on Oct. 15, 2026. These are separate from the legal rates above. The Government’s press release calls the UK Living Wage and London Living Wage “voluntary pay benchmarks that employers can choose to sign up to, not legally binding requirements”.

What if an employer pays less than the minimum wage?

GOV.UK says HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) enforces the National Minimum Wage (NMW) on behalf of the Fair Work Agency. GOV.UK offers an online complaint form. The Acas helpline is 0300 123 1100, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.

Related April 2027 changes

The Government announced the rates on Oct. 28, 2026, the day of the Chancellor’s statement. Our UK Budget 2026 key dates story lists the rise with the other April 2027 changes, and the State Pension rise for April 2027 story covers another April 2027 increase. Mark the date on the April 2027 printable calendar.