Rates & allowances
Minimum wage — UK rates and thresholds
National Living Wage and age-banded minimum wage rates.
2026/27
Minimum wage (from April 2026)
- NLW (21+)£12.71 per hour
- 18–20£10.85 per hour
- 16–17£8 per hour
- Apprentice£8 per hour
Minimum wage (per hour)
- NLW (21+)£12.71 from 1 April 2026
- 18–20£10.85 from 1 April 2026
- 16–17£8 from 1 April 2026
- Apprentice£8 under 19, or 19+ in first year
National Minimum and Living Wage
Employers must pay at least the National Minimum Wage, or the higher National Living Wage for eligible older workers, with different rates by age and for apprentices. The rates change each April. The tables above show the current figures.
Underpaying — even accidentally, through unpaid time or deductions — leads to penalties and naming by HMRC. Our payroll service keeps you compliant.
It is an hourly test, not a salary test
Compliance is checked by dividing pay by the hours actually worked in a pay reference period. A salary that looks comfortably above the rate can fail in a week with long hours, and the liability sits with the employer regardless of what was agreed.
The rates are banded by age, with a separate apprentice rate, and a birthday changes the rate from the next pay reference period. Employers with young staff have to watch for it rather than be told.
The deductions that cause underpayment
Time spent training, opening up, closing, or waiting for work usually counts as working time. Deductions for uniforms, tools or till shortages, and salary sacrifice arrangements, can all pull pay below the minimum even where the headline rate is right. Underpayment carries penalties and public naming, and it is far more often an administrative error than an intention.
Frequently asked
Who gets the National Living Wage?+
Eligible workers at or above the qualifying age get the higher National Living Wage; younger workers and apprentices have their own rates. See the table above.
When do the rates change?+
The minimum and living wage rates are normally updated each April. Our payroll service applies the new rates automatically.
Does a salaried employee need checking?+
Yes. The test is pay divided by hours actually worked in the pay reference period, so a salary that averages out fine over a year can still breach the minimum in a heavy week. It is an hourly test whatever the contract says.
Can I deduct the cost of a uniform?+
Only if it does not take pay below the minimum wage. Deductions for uniforms, tools or till shortages are a frequent cause of unintentional underpayment, which carries penalties and public naming.
Rates in context
Knowing the rate is not the same as knowing the bill.
Thresholds interact — allowances taper, reliefs stack, and the order you take income in changes the total. We plan for that.
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