# Apprentice pay in a trades firm: £8 an hour, who gets it, and what the second year costs in a week

> The apprentice minimum wage is £8 an hour from April 2026, but only under 19 or in the first year. A 37.5-hour week is £300, then £406.88 at 18 to 20. Worked.

- Page to cite: https://aeolookup.com/trades/apprentice-minimum-wage-8-pounds-first-year-19-or-over-trades-firm-weekly-cost-worked/
- Publisher: AEO Lookup (https://aeolookup.com/)
- Section: Trades and building firms, Rules and paperwork
- Published 13 October 2026
- Key fact: At £8 an hour a 37.5-hour week is £300 and a 52-week year is £15,600. The same hours at the 18 to 20 rate of £10.85 are £406.88 a week (£21,157.50 a year) and at the 21 and over rate of £12.71 are £476.63 a week (£24,784.50 a year). Moving a 19-year-old from the apprentice rate to the 18 to 20 rate adds £106.88 a week, £5,557.50 a year.
- Sources: GOV.UK, "National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates" (rates from 1 April 2026: 21 and over £12.71, 18 to 20 £10.85, under 18 £8, apprentice £8; apprentice rate applies if aged under 19, or aged 19 or over and in the first year of the apprenticeship; rates change each 1 April). Read 13 October 2026.

A heating engineer takes on a 19-year-old as an apprentice in September and quotes the first year's wage bill on £8 an hour. In month 13 the rate on the payslip changes, and nobody in the firm planned for it. This guide puts numbers on that step for the 2026 to 2027 rates, so the cost is known before the apprenticeship starts.

## What the page says

GOV.UK lists the hourly rates from 1 April 2026: **£12.71** for those aged 21 and over, **£10.85** for 18 to 20, **£8** for under 18, and **£8** for an apprentice. The page says the rates change on 1 April every year.

The apprentice rate is for an apprentice who is either "aged under 19" or "aged 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship". An apprentice aged 19 or over who has completed the first year is paid the rate for their age band instead. For a 19 or 20-year-old that is £10.85; for someone who turns 21 it is £12.71.

## The week in pounds

A common full-time week in a small firm is 37.5 hours. The table uses that figure and 52 weeks.

| Rate | Hourly | Per 37.5-hour week | Per 52 weeks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apprentice | £8.00 | £300.00 | £15,600.00 |
| 18 to 20 | £10.85 | £406.88 | £21,157.50 |
| 21 and over | £12.71 | £476.63 | £24,784.50 |

Our arithmetic, to the nearest penny. Moving a 19-year-old from the apprentice rate to the 18 to 20 rate adds £106.88 a week, which is £5,557.50 over a year. That is a 36% rise in the weekly wage, which is why it deserves a line in the plan.

## The two cases to separate

An apprentice who starts at 16 or 17 is on the apprentice rate until 19 whatever year of the apprenticeship they are in. The firm that takes on a 17-year-old for a three-year course has the cheapest rate for two years, and then the 18 to 20 rate for the final stretch, because the apprentice is by then 19 and out of the first year.

An apprentice who starts at 19 or 20 has one year on £8 and then moves to £10.85 for the rest. A 20-year-old who turns 21 during the course moves again. The date to put in the diary is the first anniversary or the birthday, whichever comes first.

## What to put in the plan

- **The start date and date of birth,** so the date the rate changes can be worked out and written down.
- **The weekly hours,** because £106.88 a week is based on 37.5 hours and a 40-hour week is higher.
- **The next 1 April,** when every rate in the table moves, so a figure planned in September is out of date by the spring.
- **Employer costs on top.** The employer's National Insurance and statutory sick pay are separate; see [first employee, employer National Insurance and the Employment Allowance](https://aeolookup.com/trades/first-employee-employer-national-insurance-15-percent-5000-employment-allowance-trades/) and [statutory sick pay from day one](https://aeolookup.com/trades/statutory-sick-pay-day-one-small-trades-firm/).

I did not read the page's guidance on how training hours count, on apprentices' pay records or on any extra pay the contract promises, so read it and your own contract before you set a figure.

Overlyft ![](https://aeolookup.com/img/d/ours-badge.png) builds AI staff who join your trade business team and keep a date list of each apprentice's birthday and anniversary, warn the office a month before a rate change, and show the new weekly cost beside the old, while you decide the pay.

This is general information, not employment advice. Check GOV.UK and your own contract before you set pay.

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General information for UK small firms, not legal, tax or financial advice.