On 1 April 2023, the government will increase the National Living Wage (NLW) rate for workers aged 23 years and over by 9.7% to £10.42.
This 92p increase is the largest ever cash increase to the National Living Wage. Changes to the other National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates including % increases are below.
| National Living Wage | 2022 rate | 2023 rate | % Nominal increase | Cash increase |
| 23 Year old and over | £9.50 | £10.42 | 9.7% | 92p |
| 21 to 22 Year old | £9.18 | £10.18 | 10.9% | £1 |
| 18 to 20 Year old | £6.83 | £7.49 | 9.7% | 66p |
| Under 18 Years | £4.81 | £5.28 | 9.8% | 47p |
| Apprentice | £4.81 | £5.28 | 9.8% | 47p |
| Accommodation offset | £8.70 | £9.10 | 4.6% | 40p |
Paying the National Minimum Wage can be more complex than just paying your workers the correct rate. These are just a few of the risks and common causes of underpayment:
- deductions and payments for items or expenses that are connected with the job
- unpaid working time for example, team handovers between shifts or time spent passing through security checks on entry and exit
- incorrect use of apprenticeship rates for example, paying the minimum wage apprentice rate when the worker is not a genuine apprentice, or paying the minimum wage apprentice rate before a worker starts their apprenticeship, or after it ends
Further information and guidance is available on calculating the minimum wage.
To help you to get things right, the National Minimum Wage team invites you to join one of our live webinars that are taking place throughout March 2023.
Join ‘National Minimum Wage — how to make sure you’re paying the new rates correctly’, where a panel of experts will be on hand to answer questions.