Advice on Settlement Agreements Employees
Advice on Settlement Agreements EmployersThe National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates go up on 1 April 2022 and the new rates will be as follows:
New National Living Wage & National Minimum Wage Rates
These rates are for the National Living Wage (for those aged 23 and over) and the National Minimum Wage (for those of at least school leaving age). The rates change on 1 April every year.
| 23 and over | 21 to 22 | 18 to 20 | Under 18 | Apprentice | |
| New Rates from 1 April 2022 – 31 March 2023 | £9.50 | £9.18 | £6.83 | £4.81 | £4.81 |
| Current Rates until 31 March 2022 | £8.91 | £8.36 | £6.56 | £4.62 | £4.30 |
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
About the National Minimum Wage (NMW)
The national minimum wage (NMW) is a prescribed minimum hourly rate of pay which employers must legally pay to most of their workers.
There are five different rates of NMW for different age-related categories of worker:
- National living wage. Since 6 April 2021 this applies to workers aged 23 or over. The NLW was initially set by the government in April 2016 at 50p above the standard adult rate, but is now a separate age-related hourly rate.
- Standard (adult) rate. For workers aged 21 and 22.
- Development rate. For workers aged between 18 and 20 inclusive.
- Young workers rate. For workers aged under 18 but above the compulsory school age, that are not apprentices.
- Apprentice rate. For apprentices under 19 years of age or those aged 19 and over but in the first year of their apprenticeship.
A worker is entitled to the rate that applies at the start of a particular pay reference period even if the NMW rates are changed or the worker becomes entitled to a different rate during that reference period (regulation 4B, NMW Regulations 2015).