Minimum wage rise for under-21s set to slow in this week’s Budget

Smaller increases than in previous years

The rise is well below the 26% increase Labour delivered for under-21s since 2024. That push aimed to scrap what ministers called "discriminatory age bands" between pay rates.

Even after the change, under-21s will still earn less than the National Living Wage.

For workers aged 21 and over, that rate climbs 3.9% to £13.20.

The gap lands the same week a council confirmed an 'outrageous' 94% council tax hike, adding to pressure on renters already named among the worst places in the UK to be young and unemployed.

Why the minimum wage rise is smaller this year

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds defended the slower pace.

As he spoke to the BBC, he said the manifesto pledge on equal pay "still applies" but that it was "always clear it could happen over time".

"It is a balance of making sure the pressures on the labour market are taken into account", he added.

What unions say about the minimum wage gap

Unison general secretary Andrea Egan called the gap "deeply unfair".

"Twenty year-old care workers, teaching assistants and security guards do the same work as their older colleagues," she said.

"They don't pay less in the supermarket or at the petrol pump. They must be paid equally."

How much is the minimum wage rising by?

The Times puts the new rate for 18 to 20-year-olds at about £11.27 an hour, up roughly 3.9% on today's £10.85.

The National Living Wage for over-21s climbs by the same percentage, to £13.20.

When will the new rates be confirmed?

Chancellor John Healey sets out the full pay rates in this week's Budget.

He has also pointed to a fuel duty freeze and higher tax-free mileage rates as part of the same package, framing it as support with the cost of living.