April 2021 changes to National Minimum Wage and other statutory payments

The new National Living Wage (NLW) and National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates come into force in April and will apply from the first pay period on or after 1 April 2021.

Here we outline the key changes so your business is ready to go when April arrives.

It’s important to note that from 1 April, the NLW rate will apply to those who are 23 or over (previously it only applied to those who were 25 or over). The threshold is set to reduce further to 21 by 2024.

We’ve summarised the key changes in the table below:

	Current	From April 2021	% rise
National Living Wage	£8.72	£8.91	2.2%
21-22-year-old rate	£8.20	£8.36	2.0%
18-20-year-old rate	£6.45	£6.56	1.7%
16-17-year-old rate	£4.55	£4.62	1.5%
Apprentice rate *	£4.15	£4.30	3.6%
Accommodation offset	£8.20	£8.36	2.0%

* For apprentices under 19 or 19 or over but in the first year of an apprenticeship

Other statutory payment changes 

• The rate of Statutory Sick Pay will increase to £96.35 per week (from £95.85) from 6 April 2021.
• Basic rate of Statutory Maternity Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay – will increase to £151.97 per week (from £151.20) (or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings if this figure is less than the statutory rate) from 4 April 2021.
• Statutory Paternity Pay, Statutory Shared Parental Pay and Statutory Parental Bereavement Leave pay – will increase to £151.97 per week (from £151.20) (or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings if this figure is less than the statutory rate) from 4 April 2021.
• Please note: Statutory Parental Bereavement Leave does not apply to Northern Ireland.

Citation can help get you prepared