National Minimum Wage Increases April 2026

The National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Regulations 2026 came into force on 01 April 2026.

ICB clarifies two things about these Regulations:

The Effective Date

The legislation came into force on Wednesday 01 April 2026.  The Regulations update the National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015 and increase the hourly rates for workers as follows:

* For apprentices under 19 and those aged 19 or over who are in the first year of their apprenticeship.  All other apprentices are entitled to the rate applicable for their age.

The Accommodation Offset daily rate increased by £0.44p (4.1%) from £10.66 to £11.10.

Wednesday 01 April 2026 is the date that the legislation came into force.  However, from a statutory perspective, this does not mean the new rates are effective on that day.  This is regardless of what press releases or news coverage might say. 

The Pay Reference Period 

The 2026 Regulations amend the 2015 Regulations and these are the main source of reference for employers.  Regulation 4B is clear about when these rates are effective:

The hourly rate of the national minimum wage at which a worker is entitled to be remunerated as respects work, in a pay reference period, is the rate which applies to the worker on the first day of that period.

This same phase is replicated at Regulation 4B.  The pay reference period is the period for which a worker is paid – the week, the month etc.

To determine the applicable rate of the minimum wage,  from a legislative perspective, if the pay reference period for which a worker is paid starts on Wednesday 01 April 2026, the new rates must be paid from that day.  However, if this is not the first day in the pay reference period but is partway through, the new rates are effective from the start of the following pay reference period.  For example: 

• On a monthly payroll, it is common for workers to be paid from the first to the last day of the month.  If this is the case, working time must be paid at the new rates from 01 April 2026;
• If it is a weekly payroll, the pay reference period could start Monday 30 March and end Sunday 05 April (with payment being made the following week).  If this is the case, legislatively, the rate of payment for this entire pay reference period is the rate that applied on 30 March 2026.  The first full pay reference period that starts on and after 01 April 2026 does not begin until Monday 06 April 2026

For Bookkeepers 

ICB has covered this vital concept in previous years.  Indeed, we mention it every year.  This is only for the purposes of advising you the statutory position, not the position some people may want you to hear. 

Many employers believe the rate must be paid from 01 April 2026 and may request the pay reference period is pro-rated.  However, this is not necessary to comply with the law and this article may provide you with a justification to employers who want to pay the new rates from 01 April 2026.  

The Acas guidance ‘Example of pay not going up straight away’ provides an example of Sam with a monthly pay reference period that starts on the 16th of one month and ends on the 15th of the following month.  This shows how the old rate can be paid up until 15 April but the new rate must be paid from 16 April (the start of the first full pay reference period on or after 01 April).

If employers do want to pay some of the pay reference period at one rate and some at another, there is nothing to say this pro-rata work cannot be done.