The National Living Wage rises from £12.71 to £13.21 an hour on 1 April 2027. For each full-time care worker on the rate, pay and employer National Insurance rise by £1,121.25 a year.
The government accepted the Low Pay Commission's recommendations on 28 October 2026. From 1 April 2027 the rate for workers aged 21 and over is £13.21, up 3.9% from £12.71. The rate for 18 to 20-year-olds is £11.27, the rate for 16 and 17-year-olds and apprentices is £8.31, and the accommodation offset is £11.53 a day.
Multiply £1,121.25 by the number of full-time-equivalent staff paid at the rate. Twenty full-time-equivalent care workers add £22,425 a year before pension contributions.
Bury Council's 2026/27 fee report noted the expectation among staff paid close to the minimum wage that their differential over it will be kept, which adds to the cost for staff paid above the rate.
Bury's 2026/27 council rates took effect on 1 April 2026, the date of that year's wage rise. Fee increases for self-funded residents follow the notice terms in each resident's contract.
We model the April 2027 wage bill from your payroll, with on-costs, and turn it into the fee or hourly rate each service needs. Try the care staffing cost calculator.
£13.21 an hour for workers aged 21 and over, from 1 April 2027.
£8.31 an hour, the same as the rate for 16 and 17-year-olds.
What councils are told about fee levels, and the cost case that answers it.
Employer National Insurance at 15%, the £10,500 allowance and who can claim it.
The sleep-in hours that count for the National Living Wage after the Mencap ruling.
We look at your last accounts, your payroll hours and your fee rates, and tell you what we would change.