The National Minimum Wage Act 1998 (c. 39) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that created a minimum wage across the United Kingdom. From 1 April 2026 the minimum wage is £12.71 per hour for people aged 21 and over, £10.85 for people aged 18-20, and £7.55 for people aged under 18 and apprentices aged under 19 or in the first year of their apprenticeship. but in reality by that year it had only reached £8.72 per hour.
Background
No national minimum wage existed prior to 1998, although there were a variety of systems of wage controls focused on specific industries under the Trade Boards Act 1909. The Wages Councils Act 1945 and subsequent acts applied sectoral minimum wages. These were gradually dismantled until the Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Act 1993 abolished the 26 final wages councils, which had protected around 2,500,000 low-paid workers.
Much of the Labour Party had long opposed a government minimum wage because they feared that would reduce the need for joining trade unions, which they supported.
Part of the reason for the shift in Labour's minimum wage policy was the decline of trade union membership over recent decades (weakening employees' bargaining power),
The implementation of a minimum wage was opposed by the Conservative Party
Overview
thumb|upright=1.4|Real national minimum wages 1999–2022, adjusted to April 2023 prices.
The NMW rates are reviewed each year by the Low Pay Commission, which makes recommendations for change to the Government.
The following rates apply as of April 2026:
- £12.71 per hour for workers aged 21 and over
- £10.85 per hour for workers aged 18–20
- £8 per hour for apprentices and workers aged under 18
In his 2015 budget, George Osborne announced that from 1 April 2016, a further rate known as the "National Living Wage" ("NLW") would apply to those aged 25 or over at the rate of £7.20 per hour. This was successfully introduced into legislation. The minimum age threshold was decreased to 23 in April 2021.
In November 2023, Jeremy Hunt announced that all workers over 21 would receive the National Living Wage from April 2024 onwards.