The National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015

PART 2 U.K. Rates of the National Minimum Wage and Pay Reference Period

[F1 The national living wage U.K.

4.   The single hourly rate of the national minimum wage for the purposes of section 1(3) of the Act (“the national living wage rate”) is [F2 £12.21].

Textual Amendments

F1 Regs. 4-4B substituted for reg. 4 (1.4.2016) by The National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Regulations 2016 (S.I. 2016/68), regs. 1(2), 3

F2 Sum in reg. 4 substituted (1.4.2025) by The National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Regulations 2025 (S.I. 2025/401), regs. 1(2), 2(2)

Workers who qualify for the national minimum wage at a different rate U.K.

4A.— (1) The hourly rate of the national minimum wage is—

F3 (a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(b) [F4 £10.00] for a worker who is aged 18 years or over (but is not yet aged 21 years);

(c) [F5 £7.55] for a worker who is aged under 18 years;

(d) [F6 £7.55] for a worker to whom the apprenticeship rate applies, as determined in accordance with regulation 5.

(2) If the rate in paragraph (1)(d) applies to a worker, the national living wage rate and the rates in [F7 paragraph 1(b) and (c)] of this regulation do not apply to that worker.

Textual Amendments

F1 Regs. 4-4B substituted for reg. 4 (1.4.2016) by The National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Regulations 2016 (S.I. 2016/68), regs. 1(2), 3

F3 Reg. 4A(1)(a) omitted (1.4.2024) by virtue of The National Minimum Wage (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/432), regs. 1(2), 2(3)(a)

F4 Sum in reg. 4A(1)(b) substituted (1.4.2025) by The National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Regulations 2025 (S.I. 2025/401), regs. 1(2), 2(3)(a)

F5 Sum in reg. 4A(1)(c) substituted (1.4.2025) by The National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Regulations 2025 (S.I. 2025/401), regs. 1(2), 2(3)(b)

F6 Sum in reg. 4A(1)(d) substituted (1.4.2025) by The National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Regulations 2025 (S.I. 2025/401), regs. 1(2), 2(3)(c)

F7 Words in reg. 4A(2) substituted (1.4.2024) by The National Minimum Wage (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/432), regs. 1(2), 2(4)

Determining the applicable national minimum wage rate U.K.

4B.   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.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Regs. 4-4B substituted for reg. 4 (1.4.2016) by The National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Regulations 2016 (S.I. 2016/68), regs. 1(2), 3

Determining whether the apprenticeship rate applies U.K.

5.—(1) The apprenticeship rate applies to a worker—

(a) who is employed under a contract of apprenticeship [F8 ,] apprenticeship agreement (within the meaning of section 32 of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009) [F9 or approved English apprenticeship agreement (within the meaning of section A1(3) of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009)], or is treated as employed under a contract of apprenticeship, and

(b) who is within the first 12 months after the commencement of that employment or under 19 years of age.

(2) A worker is treated as employed under a contract of apprenticeship if the worker is engaged—

(a) in England, under Government arrangements known as Apprenticeships, Advanced Apprenticeships, Intermediate Level Apprenticeships, Advanced Level Apprenticeships or under a Trailblazer Apprenticeship;

(b) in Scotland, under Government arrangements known as Modern Apprenticeships;

(c) in Northern Ireland, under Government arrangements known as Apprenticeships NI; or

(d) in Wales, under Government arrangements known as Foundation Apprenticeships, Apprenticeships or Higher Apprenticeships.

(3) In paragraph (1)(b), a worker does not commence employment with an employer where that worker has previously been employed by another employer and the continuity of employment is preserved between the two employments by or under any enactment.

(4) In this regulation—

(a) “Government arrangements” means—

(i) in England, arrangements made by the Secretary of State under section 2 of the Employment and Training Act 1973(1) or section 17B of the Jobseekers Act 1995(2),

(ii) in Wales, arrangements made by the Secretary of State or the Welsh Ministers under section 2 of the Employment and Training Act 1973 or the Secretary of State under section 17B of the Jobseekers Act 1995,

(iii) in Scotland, arrangements made by the Secretary of State or the Scottish Ministers under section 2 of the Employment and Training Act 1973 or by Scottish Enterprise or Highlands and Islands Enterprise under section 2 of the Enterprise and New Towns (Scotland) Act 1990(3),

(iv) in Northern Ireland, arrangements made by the Department for Employment and Learning under section 1 of the Employment and Training Act (Northern Ireland) 1950(4);

(b) “Trailblazer Apprenticeship” means an agreement between an employer and a worker which provides for the worker to perform work for that employer and for the employer, or another person, to provide training in order to assist the worker to achieve the apprenticeship standard in the work done under the agreement;

(c) “apprenticeship standard” means the standard published by the Secretary of State in connection with the Government arrangements known as Trailblazer Apprenticeships, which applies as respects the work done under the agreement.

Textual Amendments

F8 Reg. 5(1)(a): comma substituted (26.5.2015) by The Deregulation Act 2015 (Consequential Amendments) Order 2015 (S.I. 2015/971), art. 1(2)(a), Sch. 1 para. 3(2)(a)

F9 Words in reg. 5(1)(a) inserted (26.5.2015) by The Deregulation Act 2015 (Consequential Amendments) Order 2015 (S.I. 2015/971), art. 1(2)(a), Sch. 1 para. 3(2)(b)

Commencement Information

I1 Reg. 5 in force at 6.4.2015, see reg. 1

Pay reference period U.K.

6.  A “pay reference period”(5) is a month, or in the case of a worker who is paid wages by reference to a period shorter than a month, that period.

Commencement Information

I2 Reg. 6 in force at 6.4.2015, see reg. 1

(1)

1973 c.50; section 2 was substituted by the Employment Act 1988 (c.19), section 25; subsections (3A) to (3B) were inserted by the Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Act 1993 (c.19), section 47; subsections (2) and (6) were repealed by the Employment Act 1989 (c.38), section 29(4) and Schedule 7, paragraph 1; the powers under section 2 are exercisable by the Welsh Ministers concurrently with the Secretary of State by virtue of S.I. 1999/672 and paragraph 30 of Schedule 11 to the Government of Wales Act 2006 (c.32) .

(2)

1995 c.18.

(3)

1990 c.35 (S.); subsections (3)(b) to (c) and (4) of section 2 were amended, and subsection (3)(d) was inserted, by the Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Act 1993 (c.19), section 47 and Schedule 10, paragraph 1; subsection (4)(a) was amended by the Equality Act 2010 (c.15), Schedule 26(1), paragraph 20; subsection (6) was amended by S.I.1999/1820 .

(4)

1950 c.29 (N.I.); the powers of the Department under section 1 were extended by S.I. 1974/2144 (N.I.7), Article 7; subsections (1) to (1C) were substituted for subsections (1)to (1A) by S.I. 1988/1087 (N.I. 10,; subsections (2) and (3) were amended by S.I. 1990/1200 (N.I. 8), Article 5; section 1(1A)(d) was amended by the Employment Act (Northern Ireland) 2010 c.12 (N.I.), Schedule 1, paragraph 1.

(5)

This is the period prescribed for the purpose of section 1(4) of the Act.