The Low Pay Commission (LPC) is seeking views on the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) rates to apply from April 2026. The consultation covers:
· The impact of the April 2025 NLW increase to £12.21.
· The affordability and effects of a potential NLW increase to between £12.50 and £12.80 in April 2026.
· The Government’s ambition to extend the NLW to all workers aged 18 and over.
· The effects of recent minimum wage increases on younger workers and apprentices.
· Broader economic and labour market conditions affecting low-paid workers and employers.
· The LPC is an independent body advising the Government on minimum wage policy.
· This consultation invites evidence from stakeholders across the UK to inform LPC’s recommendations for 2026.
· Although the LPC has not yet received its formal remit from the Government, it is proceeding with the consultation to allow sufficient time for responses.
· The NLW rose to £12.21 in April 2025, meeting the target of two-thirds of median earnings.
· A projected rate of £12.65 (range: £12.50-£12.80) may be required in April 2026 to maintain this benchmark.
· The final recommendation will depend on the Government’s remit, economic conditions, and wage growth forecasts.
· The Government aims to extend the NLW to all workers aged 18 and over.
· The LPC is consulting on how to close the gap between youth rates and the NLW, including the pace and method of transition.
· Views are also sought on the effects of recent increases to the 16-17 and apprentice rates, and the future of the Apprentice Rate.
The LPC is particularly interested in:
· The impact of the 2025 NLW increase on employment, hours, earnings, prices, and business performance.
· The effects of minimum wage increases on different groups, including by age, sex, ethnicity, and disability.
· The interaction between the NLW and other costs, such as employer National Insurance contributions.
· Barriers to job progression and the role of childcare, transport, and Universal Credit.
· Sector-specific conditions and the broader economic outlook.
1. Please provide information about yourself or your organisation. If possible, include details about your location, the type of job or business (occupation and/or sector) you are involved in, your workforce if you are an employer (including number of minimum wage workers),and anything else you think is relevant.
2. What has been the impact of the NLW in the past year, particularly the most recent 6.7 per cent increase to £12.21 in April this year?
3. To what extent has the NLW affected different groups of workers? In particular, are migrant workers affected differently ordo effects differ by protected characteristics?
4. Employer National Insurance (NICs) has risen atthe same time as the NLW. How have employers responded to this, and how has this interacted with the NLW change? Which is the bigger impact?
5. How has the NLW’s impact varied across different areas of the UK?
6. At what level should the NLW be set from April2026?
7. Where do employers get their information about the NLW and future projections?
8. Recent increases in the NLW have exceeded increases in average prices. How far has this helped workers at or close to the minimum wage to meet their living costs?
9. What has happened to quality of work recently? For example, have workers experienced changes in contract types, flexibility, workplace harassment and work intensification?
10. What has happened to wider benefits available to workers (including premium pay and non-pay benefits across the workforce)?
11. What are the barriers preventing workers from moving to a new job, particularly one that is better-paid?
12. How has access and cost of childcare and transport affected workers’ ability to move into work or to a better-paying job?
13. What opportunities are there for progression to better-paid work for low paid workers and how common is promotion?
14. What has been workers’ experience of the Universal Credit system and how the minimum wage interacts with it?
15. The Government wishes to move to a single adultrate of the minimum wage for all workers aged 18 and over. The supporting annex lays out some options for achieving this. We welcome any comments on these options, including:
a. How will reducing the age threshold for the NLW affect you, your members or others?
b. Are there particular benefits or risks associated with the options presented here(or other options we have not considered)? Do you have views on the bestapproach to changing the age threshold?
c. Do you have views on the pace of the transition to an NLW starting at age 18?
d. What approach should the LPC take to the gap between the 16-17 Year Old Rate and the minimum wage for 18 year olds?
e. How should we evaluate the impact of the steps that we take to move towards an NLW starting at age 18?
16. The 18-20 Year Old Rate increased by 16.3 percent in April to £10.00. The 16-17 Year Old Rate increased by 18 per cent, to £7.55. How have recent changes in the minimum wages for young people affected their employment prospects?
17. How do the youth minimum wage rates influence employers’ decisions about hiring and pay, and young people’s decisions about employment?
18. What other factors determine pay for young people aside from the rates? For example, job role, skills or length of time in the job.
19. Why do employers make use of the youth rates (including pay rates above the youth minimum wages, but below the NLW)? To what extent has this been affected by the recent tight labour market?
20. Employer National Insurance has risen at thesame time as the NLW, but workers below 21 do not attract employer NICs. Has this affected employers’ recruitment decisions?
21. At what level should the youth rates be set from April 2026?
22. The Apprentice Rate increased in April by 18 percent, to £7.55. What do you expect the effects of this increase to be?
23. What is the outlook for the recruitment and employment of apprentices? What are the drivers of employers’ decisions on this?
24. How do employers set pay for apprentices? How does this differ from other parts of the workforce?
25. Our advice to the Government on the future of the NMW recommended significant changes to the treatment of apprentices, including the replacement of the Apprentice Rate by a discount against the relevant NMW age rate. We welcome any comments on these recommendations.
26. What issues are there with compliance with the minimum wage and what could be done to address these?
27. What comments do you have on HMRC’s enforcement work?
28. The Accommodation Offset increased by 6.7 percent in April, to £10.66. What has been the effect of recent increases in the offset on employers’ decisions on the provision of accommodation?
29. What impact does the offset have on workers? What are the hours, pay and working conditions of workers for whom the offset is deducted?
30. What are your views on the economic outlook andbusiness conditions in the UK for the period up to April 2026?
31. To what extent have employers been affected by other major trends in the economy and labour market: for example, tariffs, inflation, Brexit, the shift to homeworking or changes in the numbers ofmigrant workers in the UK?
32. Apart from the minimum wage, what are the key drivers of pay decisions in low-paying sectors and occupations?
33. How do employers balance pay pressures for low-paid workers with those for others higher up pay scales?
34. How has inflation and the cost of living factored into wage setting? What has been your experience of wage growth andinflation in the last year, and what are your views on forecasts for the next couple of years?
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