UK National Minimum Wage 2026/27 — Rates & Pay Checks

The UK National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates increased on 1 April 2026. For the 2026/27 rate year, the hourly rates are £12.71 for workers aged 21 and over, £10.85 for workers aged 18 to 20, £8.00 for workers under 18 who are above compulsory school-leaving age, and £8.00 for qualifying apprentices.

The correct rate depends on the worker's age, apprentice status and the type of work arrangement. Being paid a salary, working part-time, being on probation or being a foreign worker does not by itself remove minimum-wage protection. A worker can still be underpaid when the headline hourly rate looks high if unpaid working time, employment-related deductions, salary sacrifice or accommodation charges have been handled incorrectly.

UK minimum wage rates from April 2026

These rates apply from 1 April 2026. The next rate change is scheduled for 1 April each year, but the 2027 rates are not established by this page's 2026/27 table. The Low Pay Commission's 2026 report includes indicative analysis for future rates; an estimate or recommendation is not the legally operative 2027 rate.

Who is entitled to the minimum wage?

Most people classed as workers who are at least school-leaving age are protected. The rules cover full-time and part-time workers, casual labourers, agency workers, homeworkers, piece-rate workers, apprentices, trainees, workers on probation, disabled workers, agricultural workers, foreign workers and seafarers, subject to the relevant statutory definitions.

The label in the contract is not decisive. Calling someone an “intern”, contractor or casual worker does not automatically remove the minimum-wage obligation. A genuinely self-employed person running their own business, a company director and certain volunteers are among the categories that may fall outside the rules, but status is fact-specific. If the work relationship is unclear, use the official guidance or obtain employment advice rather than relying on a job title.

Apprentices: age and first-year rules

An apprentice is entitled to the apprentice rate only while the apprentice-rate conditions apply. The £8.00 rate covers an apprentice who is:

• under 19; or
• aged 19 or over and in the first year of the apprenticeship.

Once an apprentice aged 19 or over completes the first year, the age-related minimum-wage rate applies. The employer should review the pay rate when the apprentice reaches 19 and when the first year ends. Continuing the apprentice rate after the first year can create arrears even if the original apprenticeship contract used £8.00 correctly at the start.

Apprentices must also receive the training and working arrangements required by the apprenticeship rules. The apprentice rate is not a general discount that can be used for an employee who is simply learning a new task.

How to check an hourly rate

Minimum wage is checked over the relevant pay reference period, not by looking only at one advertised annual salary. The calculation normally requires the employer to identify the type of work, determine the hours that count, calculate the pay that counts and divide the qualifying pay by the qualifying hours.

For a simple illustration, a worker aged 21 or over who has 80 qualifying hours in a pay reference period needs at least 80 × £12.71 = £1,016.80 of qualifying minimum-wage pay before applying the detailed rules. This is not a universal payslip calculation: overtime, unpaid working time, deductions and the work type can change the qualifying hours or pay.

Deductions, uniforms and salary sacrifice

An employer must check deductions and payments connected with the employment. A worker who buys required tools, equipment, uniforms or other employment costs and is not reimbursed may have lower minimum-wage pay for the relevant calculation. A genuine salary sacrifice also reduces the pay available for minimum-wage purposes; the benefit received cannot simply be counted as cash pay to bring the hourly rate back up.

Benefits in kind generally do not count towards minimum wage pay, even when they have a monetary value. The main special area is employer-provided living accommodation, which has its own limited offset rules. Do not use private medical insurance, a company car or a meal benefit as though it were hourly wages.

Accommodation offset in 2026/27

The accommodation offset is £11.10 per day from April 2026. It is a notional amount used in the minimum-wage calculation; it is not the market value of the room and is not extra cash that must appear in the worker's wages.

The accommodation calculation uses the pay reference period and the number of days accommodation is provided. It can apply where the employer, a connected person or a connected company provides the property, and the accommodation does not need to be owned directly by the employer. Use the official accommodation guidance for unusual absences, education providers, social landlords and connected arrangements.

What employers should do

Employers must keep the records needed to show compliance. GOV.UK says records created on or after 1 April 2021 must generally be kept for at least six years. A payroll review should also check historic periods: correcting only the current rate does not automatically resolve earlier underpayments.

Frequently Asked Questions

Evidence and decision checks

A reliable national minimum wage 2026 27 review starts by fixing the tax year and the date on which the relevant event happened. Record the person's or business's status, the income or transaction category, the amount before tax, tax already withheld, and any election or claim being relied on. Do not combine a headline figure with a final liability: the result can change when another income source, a payment date, an ownership interest or a qualifying condition is added.

Keep the source documents behind every important input. Depending on the subject, that may include payslips, invoices, bank statements, contracts, provider statements, travel records, HMRC notices, payroll submissions, valuations or correspondence. Where an amount is apportioned, write down the method and retain the underlying total. If a correction is made, preserve the original figure and explain the reason, date and evidence for the replacement.

Before relying on the result, check the current official guidance for the same tax year and jurisdiction. Distinguish enacted law from a consultation, draft measure, announcement or future proposal, and record the effective date. Reconcile the final estimate to the relevant return, payroll record or HMRC account. A calculator or explanatory guide can support a decision, but it cannot replace the eligibility test or the official filing and payment process.

Evidence and decision checks

A reliable national minimum wage 2026 27 review starts by fixing the tax year and the date on which the relevant event happened. Record the person's or business's status, the income or transaction category, the amount before tax, tax already withheld, and any election or claim being relied on. Do not combine a headline figure with a final liability: the result can change when another income source, a payment date, an ownership interest or a qualifying condition is added.

Keep the source documents behind every important input. Depending on the subject, that may include payslips, invoices, bank statements, contracts, provider statements, travel records, HMRC notices, payroll submissions, valuations or correspondence. Where an amount is apportioned, write down the method and retain the underlying total. If a correction is made, preserve the original figure and explain the reason, date and evidence for the replacement.

Before relying on the result, check the current official guidance for the same tax year and jurisdiction. Distinguish enacted law from a consultation, draft measure, announcement or future proposal, and record the effective date. Reconcile the final estimate to the relevant return, payroll record or HMRC account. A calculator or explanatory guide can support a decision, but it cannot replace the eligibility test or the official filing and payment process.

Check boundary cases after overtime, unpaid training, absence, accommodation charges or a change of pay reference period.

Retain the hours and deductions evidence with the payroll calculation.

Minimum-wage payroll controls

Map each worker's age, apprentice status, pay reference period, hours and deductions. Reconcile the contract to actual time worked, training, travel between assignments, sleep-in arrangements and unpaid preparation where the rules require those periods to be considered. A monthly salary can fail if the hours in the pay reference period are wrong.

Review accommodation charges, uniforms, tools, loans and salary sacrifice separately. Keep rotas, time records, payslips, payroll reports and correction notes. Update the rate before the first affected pay period and retain the official rate table. A correct hourly rate does not cure an incorrect hours or deduction calculation.

Payroll controls for minimum-wage compliance

Employers should map every worker's age, apprentice status, pay reference period, working time and deductions. Reconcile the contractual rate to actual hours, including training, travel between assignments, sleep-in arrangements and unpaid preparation where relevant. A monthly salary can still fail if the hours in the pay reference period are calculated incorrectly.

Review deductions and benefits separately. Charges for accommodation, uniforms, tools, loans or salary sacrifice can affect the minimum-wage calculation, while some deductions are treated differently. Keep time records, rota changes, payslips, payroll reports and evidence of any correction. Do not wait for a complaint before testing boundary cases.

When the rate changes, update payroll before the first affected pay period and communicate the change to workers. Keep the official rate table and the calculation policy used for each year. A correct headline hourly rate does not cure an incorrect hours or deduction calculation.

Use the Salary Calculator→ to understand the employee's wider take-home position, but use GOV.UK's official National Minimum Wage calculator for the legal compliance check. Related reading: Employer NI 2026/27, Salary Sacrifice 2026/27 and Overtime Tax 2026/27.

Official sources

• GOV.UK: National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates
• GOV.UK: Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027
• GOV.UK: Who gets the minimum wage
• GOV.UK: Calculating the minimum wage
• GOV.UK: Minimum wage accommodation offset
• Low Pay Commission: The National Minimum Wage in 2026

These GOV.UK and Low Pay Commission pages are the official references for rates, eligibility, calculation, accommodation offsets and 2026 policy. Use the current legal rules for the pay period being checked.