What is the National Minimum Wage for an apprentice?

The National Minimum Wage (NMW) regulations depend on your age, but there is also a special rate for apprentices who are under the age of 19 or are in the first year of their apprenticeship. The table below summarises the position.

Age	From 1 April 2017 (current)  Rate per hour	From 1 October 2016  Rate per hour
25 and over (National Living  Wage)	£7.50	£7.20
21 and over	£7.05	£6.95
18 to 20	£5.60	£5.55
Under 18	£4.05	£4.00
Apprentice  (all apprentices under age 19 AND any apprentice, regardless of age, in first year of  apprenticeship)	£3.50	£3.40

From 1 April 2016 the National Living Wage must be paid to employees aged 25 and older except for those who are in the first year of their apprenticeship. The NMW rates will apply to workers aged below 25 or in their first year of an apprenticeship.

You can find information on the NMW of earlier years on the GOV.UK website.

More information is available on our National Minimum Wage factsheet and the examples below explain how the NMW is calculated for apprentices.

Rosie

Rosie was born in November 1995 and began her two year apprenticeship on 1 September 2016. Rosie’s NMW will be as follows:

• 1 September 2016- 1 October 2016 - Rosie’s NMW will be £3.30 per hour.
• 1 October 2016- 1 April 2017 – Rosie’s NMW will be £3.40 per hour as the NMW rates changed on the 1 October 2016.
• 1 April 2017- 31 August 2017 – Rosie’s NMW will be £3.50 per hour at the NMW rates changed on the 1 April 2017.
• 1 September 2017 – 31 August 2018- Rosie’s NMW will be £7.05 per hour as she has completed the first year of her apprenticeship and she is aged over 19 she will be paid the NMW according to her age and in September 2017 Rosie will be 21 years old. Please note we would expect the NMW to increase from 1 April 2018 however we do not yet know the NMW rates for 2018.

Seamus

Seamus started his three year apprenticeship on 6 September 2014, he was be 17 on 8 May 2015. Seamus’s NMW is as follows:

• 6 September 2014 - 30 September 2014 – Seamus’s NMW rate was £2.68 per hour.
• 1 October 2014 - 30 September 2015 – Seamus’s NMW rate was £2.73 per hour. There is an increase as the NMW rates used to change annually from 1 October. Even though Seamus has completed his first year of his apprenticeship on 5 September 2015 he remained on the apprentice NMW rate as he was under 19 years old.
• 1 October 2015 - 30 September 2016 – Seamus’s NMW rate increased to £3.30 and he remained on the apprentices NMW rate as he was under 19.
• 1 October 2016 - 31 March 2017 – Seamus’s NMW rate increased to £3.40 per hour.
• 1 April 2017 - 7 May 2017 – the NMW rate will change from April from 2017 onwards, Seamus’s new NMW rate will increase to £3.50 per hour.
• 8 May 2017 - 5 September 2017 – Seamus’s NMW rate will change as he is now 19 and he has been on his apprenticeship for longer than one year. His new NMW is £5.60 per hour.

 

What if I am not being paid the NMW?

You should first approach your employer. If that does not work, try contacting the ACAS helpline.