4. Rights to pay and conditions 




The National Minimum Wage




Under the National Minimum Wage Act 1998, workers have the right to a minimum wage. The detail of the law is found in the National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015 (the NMWR 15). These regulations consolidate all the regulations enacted to deal with the National Minimum Wage (NMW) since its introduction in 1999.



Here are the NMW rates in force from 1 April 2018:



• £7.83 an hour for workers aged 25 and older (the government calls this the “national living wage”);



• £7.38 an hour for workers aged 21 to 24;



• £5.90 an hour for workers aged 18 to 20 (called the “youth development rate”); and



• £4.20 an hour for workers aged 16 to 17.



The NMW rate is reviewed each year in April. 



Although called the “national living wage”, the government’s hourly rate for workers aged 25 or older, launched on 1 April 2016, is simply an extra age tier, added to the existing NMW regime. References in this booklet to the “National Minimum Wage” include the statutory national living wage rate. 


There is a separate apprenticeship rate for apprentices aged 16 to 18 and those aged 19 or over in their first year of apprenticeship (after which the normal age band rates set out above apply). From 1 April 2018, the apprenticeship rate is £3.70 an hour. For an employer to be allowed to pay the apprenticeship rate without breaking NMW wage law, there must be a valid Apprenticeship Agreement in place, complying with minimum statutory standards and providing training for a transferable qualification (see Chapter 2, page 49: Apprentices).



An employer providing accommodation can count some of its value towards the NMW: up to £7.00 per day, or £49 per week (from 1 April 2018), known as the “accommodation offset”. Guidance is available online at: www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-accommodation.