The future of the national minimum wage: shift to single rate

The Low Pay Commission (LPC) has released a consultation seeking input that will help shape the recommendations it will make to the Government on minimum wage rates for April 2026.

This year’s consultation is also seeking views on how the National Living Wage (NLW) rate can be extended to all workers aged 18 and over. This comes after the Government’s commitment to achieving a single adult minimum wage, starting at age 18, and the LPC’s commitment to consulting on the best way to do this in its 2024 report.

The LPC has outlined two options for lowering the age of entitlement to the NLW. These are:

• Reducing the age of entitlement by one age group at a time, first extending the NLW to 20-year-olds, then 19-year-olds, then 18-year-olds
• Increasing the 18–20-year-old rate faster than the NLW over a number of years until the two are aligned.

Both options would involve a significant increase in the wage floor for 18–20-year-olds, with the scale of which depending not only on the option taken, but on how quickly the transition is made.

To achieve this, the LPC are seeking evidence and views on various areas, including the impact of reducing the age threshold for the NLW, any benefits or risks associated with either option and the impact on the gap between the 16–17-year-old rate and the 18–20-year-old rate.

The consultation closes on 30 June 2025.

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