National Minimum Wage – a guide for 2025

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Managing your responsibilities under the National Minimum Wage (NMW) legislation is much more complex than simply paying a worker the correct rate per hour. There are numerous rules, and you must be careful not to underpay your staff and avoid potential reputational damage.

National Minimum Wage changes

At the start of August 2025, the Low Pay Commission (LPC) updated its projections for the National Living Wage (NLW) in 2026.

The estimate they have provided is that a 4.1% increase to £12.71 would ensure the NLW does not fall below two thirds of median earnings. However, as the figure is not yet final, the Commission also provide a range of £12.55 to £12.86. The final recommendation for the 2026 rate will be provided to the Government by the end of October 2025.

Looking further ahead, the Government has committed to creating a single adult rate. Although there is no detail as to when this might be expected, there is likely to be a significant increase to the 18-20 year old rate in April 2026 to narrow the gap in preparation.

Fair Work Agency

In July 2025 the Government announced the introduction of the Fair Work Agency (FWA) from April 2026. The FWA will bring together the enforcement of multiple employment rights including National Minimum Wage, Holiday Pay and Statutory Sick Pay (SSP).

There is not yet detail on how the FWA will operate, but in our experience the data set required to assess Holiday Pay and NMW compliance is aligned, so we expect that if Holiday Pay compliance is a concern, the FWA are likely to also consider the NMW position and vice versa.

How much is the National Minimum Wage?

Since 1 April 2025, the National Living Wage (NLW) that applies to workers aged 21+ is £12.21 per hour. For 16–17-year-olds and apprentices it is £7.55 per hour.

With these increased rates, alongside the uplift in employers’ Class 1 NIC, many employers will benefit from taking proactive steps to assess their NMW compliance risk, particularly given the increase in HMRC enforcement activity.

This guide is not exhaustive, but it will help you understand the main difficulties you may face when complying with NMW rules. We often work with employers who believe they pay workers sufficiently above NMW, but are unaware that the minimum level depends on a number of factors. In extreme cases, the minimum amount could be more than £45,000 per annum!

What should you be considering when calculating National Minimum Wage?

Apprentices – NMW regulations can be complex when it comes to apprentices, and businesses can get certain tax reliefs for engaging them. 

Staff uniforms – does your business require staff to wear a uniform, or enforce a dress code? This may have an effect on NMW compliance.

Salary sacrifice – it’s a common benefit these days that reduces NIC costs for both employers and employees, but some salary sacrifice arrangements can result in underpayment of National Minimum Wage. 

Travel time - travelling for the purposes of work is treated as working time for NMW purposes – with one exception. Make sure you are staying compliant.

Working time - Misunderstandings over what constitutes working time for NMW purposes are a frequent cause of underpayment and mistakes. 

Time off in lieu (TOIL) - there is an increasing spotlight on this area from a National Minimum Wage compliance perspective. Whatever system your business operates, make sure it is NMW compliant.

Volunteers - care needs to be taken that HMRC do not re-categorise a volunteer as an employee or worker despite the contrary intentions of both parties.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss an issue, you can get in touch with our National Minimum Wage experts, Dale O'Reggio and Siobhan Waters, who will be happy to help.

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FAQs

We are continuing to see an increase in HMRC’s NMW Enforcement activity and the volume of enquiries they undertake each year, meaning your NMW compliance is more likely to be checked by HMRC. HMRC enforcement activity includes:

  • Sector Targeting
  • Geographical Targeting
  • Repeat visits – revisiting employers who have previously had a HMRC NMW enquiry in the last five years.
  • Mainstream media coverage via social media, text messaging to targeted audiences and instigating the help of celebrities.
  • Acting on worker complaints – read more detail below

No. Reports have previously shown that the second most commonly enforced amount by HMRC for NMW was between 1p and 5p per hour. This highlights how seriously HMRC take NMW compliance. Typically, in our experience these underpayments are not due to paying below the legal rates, but instead due to a misinterpretation of the legislation and a lack of robust controls and processes in place.

You may be aware of HMRC issuing letters to employers about the common issues or areas employers get wrong with their NMW compliance. For example, letters can be issued to employers in a region as part of stage 1 of their geographic compliance enforcement.

However, you might not be aware that HMRC also communicates directly with both current and former workers, encouraging them to contact HMRC or ACAS if they believe they have been underpaid. Most commonly, this is done via letters to workers, but HMRC also send text messages to targeted populations, such as low paid workers who are in receipt of benefits administered by HMRC.

HMRC must investigate every complaint made directly by a worker or referred to them by ACAS. In our experience, this can lead to a costly and time-consuming investigation. Not only do HMRC need to investigate the complaint, but also whether it could apply to other workers employed in the last six years. Even if the complainant themselves is not due any arrears, these reviews often identify NMW arrears due to other workers.

During an enquiry, HMRC are likely to check the areas that commonly lead to potential NMW arrears and are often detailed as causes of underpayment in the Government’s public naming and shaming scheme. Common areas include:

  • Deductions from pay (or expenses) for employment-related items, including salary sacrifice and items workers have voluntarily elected to deduct from pay.
  • Whether workers are paid for all time worked, e.g. time to get ready for shift, clocking off/queues at clocking machine etc.
  • Paying correct NLW/NMW rates when a worker’s age changes.
  • Apprentices - ensuring the agreement covers the whole period of engagement and study time.
  • Record Keeping – to demonstrate all working time is paid; in the absence of records HMRC rely on worker testimony to demonstrate all working time is paid.
  • Work type – a salaried worker may not be a salaried worker for NMW purposes, and this will impact how the NMW calculation needs to be performed.

Employers must ensure that any safeguards implemented consider the correct NMW calculation. For example, when assessing what working time and pay counts for NMW purposes, it is key to understand which of the 4 ‘work types’ an individual worker is undertaking as different calculation methods apply for each.

While it is important to consider the impact of the increase, it is worth remembering that NMW compliance is more complex than simply paying at the correct rates. A good starting point to check your NMW compliance is considering the following:

  • Do your payroll exception reports consider deductions which reduce pay for NMW purposes?
  • Do your payroll exception reports consider pay that doesn’t count in the NMW calculation?
  • Is your payroll department aware of all working time happening within your organisation to aid accurate NMW checks? And is this information received timely, i.e. no later than the next payroll period?
  • Could you implement additional controls when workers request to be enrolled into benefit schemes?
  • Do your overtime or time off in lieu (TOIL) policies cover all additional time outside of basic contractual hours?
  • Do you make any payments to volunteers/interns? Further information around this can be found here
  • Do you ensure that you are not including tips and service charges in your NMW pay calculations? Do you also ensure no deductions from pay are made as result of tips/service charges? Find out more about the tipping laws in the UK.

HMRC can pursue NMW underpayments for a period of six years for both current and ex-workers. HMRC can also seek penalties from the employer (up to 200% of the underpayment paid to workers), and employers found in breach of NMW rules are publicly named.

Any underpayments to workers are required to be paid at the NMW age rate in the year it is made good, not the NMW rate applicable at the time the breach occurred. For example, the 2025 NMW rate is approximately 49% higher than the rate in 2019, meaning a mistake made in 2019 could cost an employer 249% more in 2025 just for the payment of arrears.

It is also worth bearing in mind that the NMW arrears payments could be pensionable, and they will most likely be treated as earnings for National Insurance Contributions purposes as well. These additional employer costs should not be forgotten when factoring into budgets.

It is also worth bearing in mind that the NMW arrears payments could be pensionable, and they will most likely be treated as earnings for National Insurance Contributions purposes as well. These additional employer costs should not be forgotten when factoring into budgets.

With more frequent naming rounds being published, being proactive can have both financial and reputational benefits.

more frequent naming rounds being published, being proactive can have both financial and reputational benefits.


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