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About Contact

UK Minimum Wage Checker

Your pay and hours

Check whether you’re paid at least the National Living Wage or National Minimum Wage for your age.

Your pay
£
Before taxSee tax, National Insurance and take-home pay on this pay. Open in PAYE Salary Calculator. and anything taken off. That’s £480.77 a week.
hours
Every hour you work, including training and travel between jobs, but not your commute or unpaid breaks.
Your rate
Pick the earlier year to check pay from before the April 2026 rise.
Deductions, tips and accommodation
£
A uniform, tools or training you have to pay for, whether you buy them or they’re taken from your pay.
£
Pay you give up for a pensionSee what that pension saving grows to. Open in Pension Calculator., cycle-to-work or other scheme, if it’s included in the pay above.
£
Only if they’re in the pay above: the extra part of overtime or shift pay, tips or service charge, and allowances such as London weighting that aren’t part of your basic pay.
Living accommodation your employer provides is the one benefit that counts towards the minimum wage, up to a daily limit.

Minimum wage rates current for 2026/27, last checked against GOV.UK.

Results update as you type

Your results

Your pay an hour
£12.82
11p an hour above the minimum
Your minimum wage
£12.71
National Living Wage, 21 and over
Pay that counts, a week
£480.77
Nothing to take off or add
The minimum for 37.5 hours
£476.63
£12.71 × 37.5 hours
Above the minimum, a week
£4.14
Your pay meets the minimum
Above it over a year
£215.50
52 weeks at these figures

From 1 April 2026 the minimum for 21 and over is £12.71 an hour. Your pay works out at £12.82 an hour, so it meets the minimum.

Your employer checks each pay period, which is a week or a month for most people. If your hours change from one period to the next, check each one with that period’s pay and hours.

Your pay and the minimum

For 37.5 hours a week, the minimum wage comes to £476.63. Your pay that counts is £480.77.

Your pay that counts, a week£480.77
The minimum wage for your hours£476.63

How your pay is checked

StepFigure
Your pay a week: £25,000 ÷ 52£480.77
Pay that counts for the minimum wage£480.77
Divided by 37.5 hours£12.82
The minimum for 21 and over£12.71

Benefits such as meals, a car or vouchers don’t count towards the minimum wage, and nor do expenses your employer pays back.

Minimum wage rates

Age or typeFrom April 2026April 2025 to March 2026
21 and over (National Living Wage)£12.71£12.21
18 to 20£10.85£10.00
Under 18£8.00£7.55
Apprentice£8.00£7.55
Accommodation offset, a day£11.10£10.66

Apprentices aged 19 or over get the rate for their age once they’ve finished the first year of their apprenticeship.

Announced for 1 April 2027 (at the 28 October 2026 Budget): £13.21 for 21 and over, £11.27 for 18 to 20, and £8.31 for under-18s and apprentices, with the accommodation offset at £11.53 a day. This checker uses the rates above until then. To see what the rise is worth after tax, try the Minimum Wage Rise Calculator.

Using this calculator

Enter your basic pay before tax, as an hourly rate, a weekly or monthly wage or a yearly salary, and the hours you work in a week. Choose your age, and the checker shows your pay an hour against the minimum that applies to you.

  • Leave out tips, the extra part of overtime or shift pay, and allowances that aren’t part of your basic pay. If they’re in the figure you enter, add them under “Deductions, tips and accommodation” so they come off.
  • Count all the hours you work, including time you have to spend training, waiting for work at your workplace, or travelling between jobs during the day.
  • To check pay you had before April 2026, choose the earlier year. If it was short, arrears are owed at today’s higher rate.

For who gets which rate, what can and can’t come off your pay, and what to do if you’re underpaid, read the minimum wage, explained.

Related calculators: take-home pay on your salary, part-time pay and holiday, Statutory Sick Pay, redundancy pay, and what the April 2027 rise is worth.

Where the figures come from

Every rate and rule checked against GOV.UK in October 2026.

Announced but not yet in force: from 1 April 2027 the National Living Wage is due to rise 3.9% to £13.21 an hour, the 18 to 20 rate to £11.27, the rate for under-18s and apprentices to £8.31, and the accommodation offset to £11.53 a day. They aren’t used in the checks here until then.

Frequently asked questions

What is the minimum wage in 2026?

From 1 April 2026, the National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over is £12.71 an hour. The National Minimum Wage is £10.85 an hour for 18 to 20 year olds, and £8.00 an hour for under-18s and apprentices. The rates usually go up every April, and from 1 April 2027 they’re due to rise to £13.21, £11.27 and £8.31.

Which rate applies to me?

The rate for your age on the last day of the pay period, unless you’re an apprentice. Apprentices get the apprentice rate if they’re under 19, or 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship. After that first year, an apprentice aged 19 or over gets the rate for their age.

How do I check my pay if I’m on a salary?

Work out what you’re paid for a pay period, such as a week or a month, and divide it by the hours you work in that period. A £25,000 salary for 37.5 hours a week, for example, is £480.77 a week, or £12.82 an hour: just above the £12.71 minimum. This checker does that sum for you.

Which hours count?

All the time you’re working, or required to be at work: training, travelling between jobs or customers during the day, and time spent waiting for work at your workplace. Your commute to and from work and unpaid rest breaks don’t count.

Can my employer make me pay for my uniform?

They can, but if it takes your pay below the minimum wage, they’re breaking the law. Anything you have to buy to do the job, such as a uniform, tools or equipment, counts against your minimum wage pay, whether you buy it yourself or it’s taken from your wages.

Do tips, overtime and allowances count?

Tips, service charges and cover charges never count towards the minimum wage. Overtime and shift pay count only at your basic rate: the extra premium doesn’t. Allowances such as London weighting don’t count unless they’re part of your basic pay.

Does salary sacrifice count against the minimum wage?

Yes. Pay you give up under a salary sacrifice scheme, for a pension, a cycle-to-work scheme or anything else, no longer counts as your pay, so your pay after the sacrifice must still meet the minimum wage.

What about accommodation from my employer?

Accommodation is the only benefit that counts towards the minimum wage. If it’s free, your employer can count up to £11.10 a day (£77.70 a week) as pay. If you pay for it, only the part of the charge above £11.10 a day comes off your pay for the check. Meals, a car and vouchers don’t count at all.

What if I’ve been underpaid?

Raise it with your employer first; it may be a mistake. Acas gives free, confidential advice, and you can complain to HMRC, which can investigate and make your employer pay what you’re owed, as well as fine them. Pay owed from an earlier year is worked out at today’s rate, so it’s worth more now than when it was due.

Who isn’t entitled to the minimum wage?

The self-employed, company directors, volunteers, people living and working in their employer’s family home as part of the family, and anyone under school leaving age. Most other workers are entitled, including part-time, agency and casual workers, and those on zero-hours contracts.

Does the minimum wage apply across the UK?

Yes. The same rates apply in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

What doesn’t this checker cover?

It checks an average week. It doesn’t cover pay for piece work or output work, hours that change from one pay period to the next, or pay that’s held back and paid in a later period. If your hours vary, check each pay period with that period’s pay and hours.