Government accepts LPC minimum wage recommendations at Autumn Budget

The Government announced acceptance of the Low Pay Commission's recommendations at the Autumn Budget on Wednesday 26 November¹. The commission, an independent body made up of employers, trade unions and experts whose role is to advise the Government on the minimum wage, had submitted its recommendations on 27 October 2025¹. The new rates came into force on 1 April 2026¹.

The National Living Wage is the statutory minimum wage for workers aged 21 and over¹. That age threshold came down from 25 to 23 in April 2021 and from 23 to 21 in April 2024¹.

Rate from April 2026	Hourly rate	Annual increase (£)	Annual increase (per cent)
National Living Wage (21 and over)	£12.71	£0.50	4.1
18-20 Year Old Rate	£10.85	£0.85	8.5
16-17 Year Old Rate	£8.00	£0.45	6.0
Apprentice Rate	£8.00	£0.45	6.0
Accommodation Offset	£11.10	£0.44	4.1

The rate recommendations were agreed unanimously by the Commission¹. Baroness Philippa Stroud, its chair, said:

"The recommendations we made last autumn sought to balance the need to protect the economy and labour market, whilst providing a real-terms increase for the lowest-paid members of society."

Low Pay Commission, GOV.UK¹

She added that "a lot has changed since we gave our advice to the Government last autumn", and that the commission is now gathering evidence for recommendations later this year, with current economic uncertainty making it "essential that the Commission hears from those affected by the minimum wage"¹.

The Government's remit to the commission, which determines its work through the year, was published on 16 March¹. The current Low Pay Commissioners are Baroness Philippa Stroud (Chair), Nigel Cotgrove, Matthew Fell, Andrew Goodacre, Louise Fisher, Professor Patricia Rice, Simon Sapper, Professor Jonathan Wadsworth and Janet Williamson¹.

Why it matters for households

Anyone paid at or near the statutory minimum wage floor is affected from 1 April 2026, when the new hourly rates took effect¹. For a worker aged 21 or over on the National Living Wage, the hourly rate rose by £0.50, or 4.1 per cent¹. The 18-20 rate rose by £0.85, or 8.5 per cent, to £10.85¹. The 16-17 and apprentice rates both rose by £0.45, or 6.0 per cent, to £8.00¹.

The accommodation offset, the maximum amount an employer can deduct from pay where accommodation is provided, rose by £0.44 to £11.10¹. The rates apply across the UK; the source does not set out separate rates for each nation.

What happens next

The commission has published a report on the immediate impacts of the new rates and a consultation to inform its recommendations on future minimum wage rates¹. It says it is beginning to gather evidence for recommendations later this year¹. The Government's remit to the commission for the year was published on 16 March¹. No date for the next set of recommendations has been reported.

Sources1 cited