UK Minimum Wage Calculator

The UK sets minimum hourly pay rates that vary by age. From 1 April 2026, the National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over is £12.71 per hour, up from £12.21. The National Minimum Wage is £10.85 for 18 to 20 year olds, £8.00 for under-18s, and £8.00 for apprentices who are under 19 or in the first year of their apprenticeship. The rates change every 1 April: the Low Pay Commission recommends them and the government sets them.

These rates are statutory minimums, so employers must pay at least these amounts for every hour worked. Hours include time spent working, time on call at the workplace, travelling as part of the job (between client sites, not commuting) and training during normal hours, as well as time spent putting on a mandated uniform. The regular commute between home and a fixed workplace, voluntary unpaid overtime and rest breaks do not count. Piece workers are covered by Fair Piece Rate rules, which require the employer to run time trials and pay at least 120% of the minimum wage for the average expected output.

This calculator checks whether your current pay meets the legal minimum based on your age, hours worked and, if you enter it, the hourly rate you are paid, showing any shortfall or margin per week and per year. It also shows what your weekly, monthly and annual income should be at the minimum rate, which makes it easier to check that your payslips are correct. A 23-year-old on 40 hours a week, for instance, should see at least £12.71 an hour for 40 hours, which is £508.40 before deductions.

Sleep-in shifts and on-call work are the main grey area. The Supreme Court ruling of 19 March 2021 in Royal Mencap Society v Tomlinson-Blake [2021] UKSC 8, which upheld the 2018 Court of Appeal decision, confirmed that a sleep-in shift, where the worker is provided with a bed and only responds if needed, attracts the minimum wage only for the time actually spent working, not for the sleeping hours. If you must remain awake or carry out regular checks, however, the entire shift counts as working time. This distinction matters most in care, hospitality and security.

Salary sacrifice arrangements (pension, cycle-to-work and EV schemes) reduce your gross salary in exchange for benefits, and your post-sacrifice pay must still equal or exceed the minimum wage. An employer cannot agree to a sacrifice that takes you below the legal floor. With the NLW at £12.71, someone on a 37.5-hour week must be left with at least £476.63 a week (£24,785 a year) after the sacrifice. Tips cannot be used to top up base pay either: since 1 October 2024 the Tipping Act 2023 has required all tips, including those shared out through a tronc, to be passed to workers in full.

The apprentice rate catches many people out. The £8.00 rate applies while you are under 19 or in the first 12 months of an apprenticeship, whichever applies to you. Once you have passed your 19th birthday and completed 12 months, you must be paid the age-appropriate rate (£10.85 for 18 to 20, £12.71 for 21 and over). Many apprentices are underpaid because employers do not update pay when these thresholds are crossed. The 12-month clock includes any furlough time but resets if you start a new apprenticeship.

Underpayment is illegal under the National Minimum Wage Act 1998. HMRC enforces the law and can charge penalties of up to 200% of the arrears (capped at £20,000 per worker), publish employers' names on the NMW Underpayment List and prosecute persistent offenders. Claims for unpaid wages can go back 6 years, and workers who complain are protected from victimisation under the Employment Rights Act. Suspected underpayment can be reported confidentially to ACAS on 0300 123 1100 or through the GOV.UK NMW complaints form.