The government has announced inflation-busting increases to the national living wage (NLW) and national minimum wage (NMW) rates from 1 April 2025. What are they?

Accepting the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission in full, the government has confirmed that it will be increasing the NLW and NMW rates from 1 April 2025 as follows:

• • the NLW rate for workers aged 21 and over will rise by 6.7% from £11.44 to £12.21 per hour – for the first time, this rate now factors in the cost of living
  • the NMW rate for workers aged 18 to 20 will rise by 16.3% from £8.60 to £10.00 per hour – this is the largest increase in this rate on record and is the government’s first step in its plans to narrow the gap with the NLW, with a view to ultimately achieving a single adult NLW rate for all workers aged 18 and over
  • the NMW rate for workers aged 16 and 17 will rise by 18.0% from £6.40 to £7.55 per hour
  • the NMW rate for apprentices aged under 19, or those aged 19 and over and in the first year of their apprenticeship, will rise by 18.0% from £6.40 to £7.55 per hour
  • the daily offset for the provision of living accommodation to a worker will rise from £9.99 to £10.66 per day.