Who qualifies for the national minimum wage?

The National Minimum Wage is important to get correct and the first step is to know who qualifies and who does not.
So, who does qualify for the national minimum wage? 
1 Workers must be at least school leaving age to get the National Minimum Wage. They must be 25 or over to get the National Living Wage.
2 Contracts for payments below the minimum wage are not legally binding. The worker is still entitled to the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage.
3 Workers are also entitled to the correct minimum wage if they are:

• part-time
• casual labourers, for example someone hired for one day
• agency workers
• workers and homeworkers paid by the number of items they make
• apprentices
• trainees, workers on probation
• disabled workers
• agricultural workers
• foreign workers
• seafarers
• offshore workers

4 Apprentices are entitled to the apprentice rate if they are:

• under 19, or
• 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship
• apprentices over 19 who have completed the first year of their apprenticeship are entitled to the correct minimum wage for their age.

The following types of workers are not entitled to the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage:

• self-employed people running their own business
• company directors
• volunteers or voluntary workers
• workers on a government employment programme, such as the Work Programme
• members of the armed forces
• family members of the employer living in the employer’s home
• non-family members living in the employer’s home who share in the work and leisure activities, are treated as one of the family and aren’t charged for meals or accommodation, for example au pairs
• workers younger than school leaving age (usually 16)
• higher and further education students on a work placement up to 1 year
• workers on government pre-apprenticeships schemes
• people on the following European Union programmes: Leonardo da Vinci, Youth in Action, Erasmus, Comenius
• people working on a Jobcentre Plus Work trial for 6 weeks
• share fishermen
• prisoners
• people living and working in a religious community

If you want to know about rates or find other information then the ACAS website is a good place to start.