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National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage to rise

ended 25. November 2025

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From next April the National Living Wage will rise by 4.1% to £12.71 an hour for eligible workers aged 21 and over, which the Government said will increase gross annual earnings of a full-time worker on the rate by £900, benefiting around 2.4 million low-paid workers.

The National Minimum Wage rate for 18 to 20-year-olds will increase by 8.5% to £10.85 an hour, narrowing the gap with the National Living Wage.

This will mean an annual earnings increase of £1,500 for a full-time worker, which the Government said marks further progress towards its goal of phasing out 18 to 20 wage bands and establishing a single adult rate.

  • What is your reaction to the living wage and minimum wage being raised?
  • Is it a good thing for average workers?
  • Is it good or bad for small businesses?
  • Can the UK afford this? How will it affect inflation?
  • Is the timing of this, being released at 6pm the day before the Budget, significant?

Responses ASAP

7 responses from the Newspage community

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Editor
Kate Underwood
Founder & Chief People Strategist at Kate Underwood HR and Training
It shouldn’t be breaking news that people deserve to be paid enough to live.

It’s good news for workers who’ve been stuck on the lowest rung for too long. £12.71 an hour still won’t stretch far in today’s world, but it’s a start. And closing the gap for younger workers? About time.

Will it be tough for small businesses? Yep. But so is constant staff turnover, sick days from burnout, and people juggling three jobs just to pay the bills.

Can the UK afford it? Wrong question. Can we afford not to pay people properly? That’s the real one.

And dropping this at 6pm the night before the Budget? Come on. That’s not strategy, that’s spin. We’re not daft.
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Riz Malik
Independent Financial Adviser at R3 Wealth
The last budget impacted employers view on employment by adding further costs. Raising the national living wage will only add to it if you factor in this and the associated employment costs. This is on the eve of the budget, which is likely to make it even more costly to do business in the UK. At what point can we ask security to escort this administration out of the building? There needs to be a carrot, not just the stick.
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Samuel Mather-Holgate
Managing Director & IFA at Mather and Murray Financial
Although this is great news for those with jobs on low wages there are unintended consequences. With AI creeping in to more and more jobs, this will mean those out of work have less opportunities to find a job and they simply cost more to hire and tech is now doing some of it. The overall financial burden for companies, coupled with higher national insurance and corporation tax, also means less expansion, less investment and fewer jobs. If the government give companies freedom to expand and invest, they tend to reward good workers financially, especially if the fiscal burden is reduced. Taxing business to the hilt is short sighted and counter productive. Reeves might not learn this in time to keep her job.
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Kate Allen
Owner at Finest Stays
This is yet another slap in the face for SMEs. We’re still reeling from the National Insurance hike, and now the government expects small businesses to absorb another costly, ill-judged policy. It’s completely detached from the reality on the ground, where finances are stretched to breaking point and hiring is already frozen.

What makes it even more insulting is the timing. Dropping this at 6pm the night before the Budget feels strategic; a last-minute attempt to soften the blow of what’s likely to be yet another disappointing set of announcements. It reads like political damage control, not policymaking.

It’s infuriating how consistently SMEs are treated as an afterthought. We’re the backbone of the UK economy, yet we get all the burden and none of the support. There is zero incentive left to take on the risk and pressure of running a business when every new policy feels like another kick in the teeth.
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Prem Raja
Head of Trading Floor at Currencies 4 You
It’s great for workers to get a pay rise, obviously. They need the extra cash and hopefully they spend it locally. But we have to be real about the pressure this puts on business owners. It is getting incredibly hard to run a company right now. We’re already dealing with rising National Insurance and a weak Pound. Adding a big wage hike on top, especially that huge jump for younger staff, is squeezing us from every side.

The brutal truth is that if employing people becomes too expensive, businesses just won’t hire. We’ll see jobs disappear because owners simply can't afford the payroll, or prices will have to go up, which just fuels inflation further.

Also, slipping this out at 6 pm the night before the Budget feels like a tactic. It looks like they want to land some 'good news' before the Chancellor likely announces heavy tax burdens tomorrow. Without real help for small businesses, this could be the tipping point that forces many entrepreneurs to shut down.
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Patricia McGirr
Founder at Repossession Rescue Network
A pay rise only counts if people feel richer, not just reassured. A 4.1% bump sounds tidy, but with rents, food and travel still climbing, it won’t shift the dial for most workers. It’s movement, not momentum. Small businesses will wince. They’re already battling higher borrowing costs and VAT pressures, and now they’re expected to stretch payroll again. Some will manage. Others will pay for it in cuts or higher prices. Can the UK afford it? Low pay drags the whole economy down, but wage rises without taming living costs risk stirring prices again. And the 6pm drop before the Budget says it all. A good day to bury bad news.
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Colette Mason
AI Ethics Consultant at Clever Clogs AI
Another nail in the coffin for getting NEETs back into work. Raise the minimum wage and businesses don't cut staff anymore, they replace entry-level roles with AI copilots for the same price as a couple of salaried hours a month.

The jobs that used to teach young people how to work, customer service, basic admin, scheduling, are suddenly 'too expensive' at £12.71 an hour. Why hire an even 'cheaper' 18-year-old at £2,400 a month, 120 times more expensive than an off-the-shelf tech tool doing the office grunt work?

We're not talking about robot arms in car plants anymore. We're talking about the knowledge work ladder getting pulled up before this generation even gets a foot on it.

Giving Britain's youth a fair chance matters. They can't legally work for less to gain experience, and they can't compete with £20/month automation. This forced hike hammers a hole in their dreams squarely below the waterline.