Government publishes Low Pay Commission remit and updated National Living Wage estimates for April 2026

The Government published the Low Pay Commission's remit for the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates that will apply from April 2026, on 5 August 2025¹. The remit asks the Commission to ensure the National Living Wage rate does not drop below two-thirds of UK median earnings for workers in the National Living Wage population¹.

Alongside the remit, the Commission published updated estimates of the rate needed to reach that benchmark. Its central estimate is that an increase to £12.71, a rise of 4.1%, would ensure the National Living Wage does not fall below two-thirds of median earnings, with a projected range of £12.55 to £12.86¹. The Commission said both the central estimate and the range around it have increased since the estimates published alongside its consultation in May, when the central estimate was £12.65 (3.6%) and the range was £12.50 to £12.80¹. It attributed the increase to average wage growth proving stronger than forecast so far this year and, as a consequence, higher forecasts for wage growth in 2025¹.

The estimates assume that year-on-year wage growth was 5.1% in May 2025, and that year-ended wage growth is forecast to be 3.9% and 3% in 2025 Q4 and 2026 Q4 respectively¹. The Commission said that if wage growth continues to outperform forecasts, the central estimate and the range around it may continue to rise over the rest of the year¹.

The remit states:

Current rates took effect on 1 April 2025¹:

The Commission said its recommendations are not purely formulaic and that the figures should be taken as indicative only, because the remit requires it to consider economic conditions and balance a "multitude of factors"¹. The remit also directs the Commission to take into account the cost of living, inflation forecasts between April 2026 and April 2027, the impact on the labour market, business and competitiveness, and wider macroeconomic conditions¹.

Why it matters for households

The figures published on 5 August 2025 are estimates, not the rates that will apply. The rates that take effect in April 2026 will be set after the Commission gives its advice to the Government, and the remit's two-thirds benchmark applies to the National Living Wage rate for workers aged 21 and over, not to the separate rates for younger workers or apprentices¹. Anyone paid at or near the current National Living Wage of £12.21 an hour is affected by whatever rate is eventually announced, as are employers setting pay for staff on the other minimum wage rates¹. The Commission's own figures show the estimate has already moved once this year, from £12.65 in May to £12.71 in August, and it said the estimate may rise further if wage growth continues to outperform forecasts¹. The difference between the statutory National Living Wage and the voluntary real Living Wage is separate from this process.

What happens next

The Commission said it will provide its advice to the Government on the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates to come into effect in April 2026 by the end of October 2025¹. The Government has not said when it will announce the rates themselves; no date for that announcement has been reported¹.