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National living wage

The UK government introduced a new minimum wage rate for all but the youngest workers, the national living wage, in 2016. Initially, it was for those aged 25 and over, but it is now for anyone aged 21 and over.

In 2024, the Labour government confirmed plans to apply the wage rate to all adults.

The national living wage (NLW) is compulsory and the Low Pay Commission (LPC) recommends future rises, maintaining it at two-thirds of median hourly earnings and, from 2025, taking into account the cost of living.

The national living wage is different to the Living Wage, a voluntary pay rate independently set by the Living Wage Foundation. The ‘real’ Living Wage is calculated according to the basic cost of living in the UK.


    • National living wage
    • Latest News
    • Pay & benefits

    Conservatives pledge £10.50 national living wage from age 21

    by Ashleigh Webber 30 Sep 2019
    by Ashleigh Webber 30 Sep 2019

    Sajid Javid has pledged to increase the national living wage to £10.50 an hour and lower the age at which...

    • National living wage
    • Agency workers
    • Zero hours

    Young and old most likely to miss out on paid holiday and payslips

    by Ashleigh Webber 16 Sep 2019
    by Ashleigh Webber 16 Sep 2019

    The youngest and oldest staff working in atypical ways, such as temporary work, are the most at risk of missing...

    • National living wage
    • Collective bargaining
    • Employee relations

    Improve collective bargaining or face Victorian conditions: TUC

    by Jo Faragher 5 Sep 2019
    by Jo Faragher 5 Sep 2019

    UK workers risk being subjected to 19th-century working conditions if the balance of power is not reset between employers and their staff.

    • National living wage
    • Latest News
    • Holidays and holiday pay

    Give workers more holiday to stimulate economic growth, report urges

    by Ashleigh Webber 12 Aug 2019
    by Ashleigh Webber 12 Aug 2019

    Increasing minimum holiday entitlement and wages would help solve the UK’s productivity crisis and stimulate economic growth, a think tank...

    • National living wage
    • Latest News
    • Pay & benefits

    Football clubs under fire over staff’s low pay

    by Adam McCulloch 9 Aug 2019
    by Adam McCulloch 9 Aug 2019

    Premier League clubs have been slow to seek Living Wage Foundation accreditation.

    • National living wage
    • Financial penalties
    • Agency workers

    Single labour market body to enforce minimum wage and holiday rights

    by Rob Moss 16 Jul 2019
    by Rob Moss 16 Jul 2019

    The government has announced proposals for a single labour market enforcement body which will have powers to enforce minimum wage...

    • National living wage
    • Latest News
    • Retail

    Proportion of workers in low-paid roles at a 40-year low

    by Ashleigh Webber 30 May 2019
    by Ashleigh Webber 30 May 2019

    The government is on track to eliminate low pay by the middle of the next decade, analysis has found.

    • National living wage
    • Latest News
    • Inflation

    Pay awards overtaken by inflation

    by Ashleigh Webber 23 May 2019
    by Ashleigh Webber 23 May 2019

    The recent jump in the retail prices index (RPI) to 3% means that pay awards are falling slightly behind inflation,...

    • National living wage
    • Latest News
    • Business travel

    Four in 10 staff unaware of paid travel time entitlement

    by Ashleigh Webber 8 May 2019
    by Ashleigh Webber 8 May 2019

    Four in 10 workers wrongly believe they are not entitled to a minimum wage for the time they spend travelling...

    • National living wage
    • Latest News
    • Minimum wage

    Chancellor considers world’s highest minimum wage

    by Ashleigh Webber 7 May 2019
    by Ashleigh Webber 7 May 2019

    The Chancellor is considering introducing what would become the world’s highest minimum wage in a bid to end low pay...

    • National living wage
    • Latest News
    • Minimum wage

    Almost half a million staff paid below the legal minimum

    by Ashleigh Webber 26 Apr 2019
    by Ashleigh Webber 26 Apr 2019

    Almost half a million people were paid less than the hourly minimum wage they were entitled to in 2017/18, according...

    • National living wage
    • Latest News
    • Economics, government & business

    A Great British success story: the national minimum wage

    by Adam McCulloch 1 Apr 2019
    by Adam McCulloch 1 Apr 2019

    Last October, chancellor Philip Hammond, trumpeting the end of austerity in his Budget address, told MPs that the national living...

    • National living wage
    • Latest News
    • Save As You Earn

    National minimum wage: What are employers getting wrong?

    by Andrew Brookes and William Sweeney 1 Apr 2019
    by Andrew Brookes and William Sweeney 1 Apr 2019

    Two decades after its introduction, many employers are still getting caught out by the rules surrounding the national minimum wage....

    • National living wage
    • Latest News
    • Minimum wage

    Workers between 21 and 24 missing out on £200m a year

    by Jo Faragher 1 Apr 2019
    by Jo Faragher 1 Apr 2019

    As the national minimum wage celebrates its 20th anniversary, the TUC has claimed that young workers could be missing out...

    • National living wage
    • Latest News
    • Retail

    Supermarket workers earn most in retail sector

    by Jo Faragher 28 Mar 2019
    by Jo Faragher 28 Mar 2019

    Supermarket workers earn the best rates in the retail sector, according to new analysis from Incomes Data Research.
    At a...

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