From 1 April 2027, the National Living Wage will rise by 50p to £13.21 an hour. For retail and hospitality leaders, the same rota can cost more to run even if trading stays flat. How much more will depend on who works those hours, what they earn today, and how often each site relies on overtime or agency cover.
The new rates are set. What you can control is how you plan your rotas, putting hours where they’re needed most and making sure each site has enough people with the right skills on shift when demand is highest.
Start with the numbers for each site. A shop that needs more cover on Saturday afternoons and a restaurant that regularly pays overtime to close have different staffing problems. Reviewing them separately helps you manage labour costs while protecting service at the times customers need you most.
The Autumn Budget on 28 October 2026 confirmed a 3.9% increase in the statutory minimum wage rates from 1 April 2027.
|
Hourly rate |
Current rate |
From 1 April 2027 |
Increase per hour |
|
National Living Wage (aged 21 and over) |
£12.71 |
£13.21 |
50p |
|
National Minimum Wage (aged 18 to 20) |
£10.85 |
£11.27 |
42p |
|
National Minimum Wage (aged 16 to 17) |
£8.00 |
£8.31 |
31p |
|
Apprentice rate |
£8.00 |
£8.31 |
31p |
The apprentice rate applies to apprentices under 19 and to those aged 19 or over in their first year. After that, apprentices aged 19 or over qualify for the minimum wage for their age. GOV.UK minimum wage rates
The wage increases apply across the UK. In England, the Budget also announced a two-year cap on business rates bill increases in line with inflation for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties, subject to exceptions, and higher Small Business Rates Relief thresholds for qualifying properties. Check eligibility site by site when updating your budgets. GOV.UK business rates guidance
Start with recent hours worked and the rates people are actually paid. Calculate the extra cost for employees whose pay needs to rise, then factor in employer on-costs and any knock-on changes, such as overtime rates linked to base pay or pay increases to maintain the gap between team members and supervisors.
For example, if a site pays for 1,000 team member hours a week at the current National Living Wage, the 50p rise adds £500 a week. If it also pays for 200 supervisor hours at £13.50 and raises that rate to £14.00 to preserve the 79p pay gap, that adds another £100. With hours unchanged, the total increase is £600 a week in base wages, before employer on-costs.
Run the numbers for a typical week, a quieter week, and a peak week to see how the impact changes with demand.
Compare scheduled and worked hours with what was happening on the ground. For a retailer, that could mean looking at footfall, transactions, and delivery times. For a hospitality operator, bookings, covers, and order volumes can show when teams are stretched. Review by time of day as well as by site. A weekly total can hide a quiet morning and a lunch rush that needs more cover.
Use recent trading patterns and upcoming local events to refresh your forecasts. Then map the work each shift needs to cover and check that the rota has the right mix of skills. A shop might need someone trained to handle deliveries while keeping enough people on the tills, while a restaurant needs enough kitchen and front-of-house cover for the lunch rush. Use that check to decide where you can move hours while still covering essential work such as prep and closing.
Review the last quarter’s overtime, agency spend, and short-notice cover by site. Separate one-off costs from recurring gaps. If the same site pays for extra cover every Friday evening, check whether the forecast misses a regular peak or the rota overlooks a gap in availability or skills.
Make it easier for employees to request shift swaps and for managers to approve them. Checking availability, skills, and working-time rules before approving a swap can help managers cover shifts earlier and reduce the need for premium cover.
Set up the new rates in advance and check that payroll applies them from the first pay reference period starting on or after 1 April 2027. Review who will move into a new age band or become eligible for a different rate as their apprenticeship progresses. GOV.UK guidance on calculating the minimum wage
Compare rotas, clocking records, and payroll to check that all working time is accounted for. Pay particular attention to tasks that can fall outside rostered hours, such as opening up, closing down, or attending mandatory training. In September 2026, the UK government named 658 employers for minimum wage underpayments. Around £4 million was repaid to more than 27,000 workers, and employers faced £7 million in penalties. GOV.UK enforcement announcement
Quinyx brings demand forecasting, scheduling, and time and attendance together. Operations teams can use sales and footfall data to forecast demand by site, build rotas around expected peaks, and compare scheduled hours with the hours people actually worked. That gives site managers and central teams a shared view of where labour spend is drifting and where teams need more cover.
With Quinyx, managers can build rotas around the skills each shift needs. They can then use the Quinyx app to share priorities and assign tasks, so teams across sites know what to focus on and who’s responsible for each task.
Book a demo to see how Quinyx can help you plan staffing and manage labour costs across your sites.