The hourly rate for the minimum wage depends on an employee's age and whether they are an apprentice.

Employees must be at least:

• school leaving age to get the National Minimum Wage
   
• aged 21 or over to get the National Living Wage
   

Apprentices are entitled to the apprentice rate if they’re either:

• aged under 19
   
• aged 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship

Apprentices are entitled to the minimum wage for their age if they:

• are aged 19 or over and
   
• have completed the first year of their apprenticeship

Note: BrightPay will not alert the user with an attention flag after the 1st year is completed by an Apprentice. BrightPay does not have an area to indicate when the apprentice start date is and it will not go off the employee start date, as an employee could become an apprentice at any point after their employment commenced. This would need to be monitored outside of BrightPay and then the NMW amended (if required) when the 1st year is completed.


 

Rates effective from 1st April 2026

These rates are for the National Living Wage and the National Minimum Wage. The rates change every April:

From April 2026, the rates are:

• £12.71 (aged 21 and over)
• £10.85 (aged 18 to 20)
• £8.00 (aged under 18)
• £8.00 (apprentice rate - under 19)
• £8.00 (apprentice rate - Aged 19 and over, but in the first year of their apprenticeship)

The National Minimum Wage does not legally apply to 15-year-olds as it only applies once a person reaches school leaving age. Pay rates are entirely up to the employer to decide and negotiate with the teenager.

Amending a Global Hourly Rate in BrightPay when the Minimum Wage changes
 

For hourly rates that have been set up at employer level in BrightPay, simply amend the rate in the 'Employer' utility > 'Hourly Rates'.

Any amendment made here, will automatically update all employees currently assigned to that hourly rate.