Changes to the National Minimum Wage 2025/26.

At William Watson & Co Accountants Ltd, we continually seek guidance from regulated professional bodies like the AAT and Croners as well as HMRC.

Croners publish weekly blogs with guidance and tax updates. We share relevant updates from articles here that may be useful for clients to keep up to date with legislation.

We have summarised some key information that may be relevant for you below.

Please note, this information was published in June 2025 and legislative updates may have been made since. This information is generic and is not suitable for all businesses. Please get in touch for tailored advice.

As many of you will be well aware, in April 2025, increases to the national minimum wage were introduced. It is vital that companies are aware of the legal responsibilities of paying minimum wage.

Here is an outline of the new minimum wage rates.

Age	New Rate (from 01/04/2025).	% increase from last year.
21 +	£12.21	6.7%
18-20	£10.00	16.03%
16-17	£7.55	18%
Apprentices Under 19 (or Over 19 in first year of apprecticeship)	£7.55	18%

As ever, when paying these new rates, it is important to keep up to date with birthdays and dates that apprentices transition into their second year to ensure that you are paying the correct rate.

These changes come into play at a key time when Employer National Insurance Contributions (NIC) have also changed, with the rate rising and the threshld for employers to start paying falling to £5000 FROM £9100. To read more about the changes to NIC - check out our recent blog here: Changes to National Insurance 2025/26.

Changes to Staturory Sick Pay:

Staturory Sick Pay (SSP) has increased from £116.75 to £118.75.

At the same time, the Lower Earning Limit (LEL) has increased from £123 to £125.

Changes to Family Friendly Statutory Pay:

Family friendly pay, including shared parently, maternity, paternity, adopition and parental bereavement pay has increased to £187.18 per week. In addition to this, neo-natal care pay has also been introduced for the first time this year, with the same pay rate above.