The 2026 rates in full
| Worker | From 1 April 2026 | Previous year |
|---|---|---|
| National Living Wage, 21 and over | £12.71 / hour | £12.21 |
| 18 to 20-year-olds | £10.85 / hour | £10.00 |
| Under 18s | £8.00 / hour | £7.55 |
| Apprentices (under 19, or 19+ in year 1) | £8.00 / hour | £7.55 |
The 18-to-20 rate rose fastest this year — up 8.5% against 4.1% for the adult rate — as the Low Pay Commission continues the path toward a single adult rate. The accommodation offset, the maximum an employer can count toward pay when they provide housing, is £11.10 a day (£77.70 a week) from April 2026.
What counts as pay — and what does not
The check is pay divided by hours, and both sides have traps. On the pay side, bonuses and commission count, but tips do not; deductions for uniforms, tools or accommodation above the offset reduce your pay for the calculation, while pension contributions and student loan repayments do not. On the hours side, every hour worked counts — including time spent training, travelling between assignments, and overtime your employer requires — but rest breaks you are genuinely free to leave do not. Salaried workers are assessed over the year, so a short week can be balanced by a longer one; hourly workers are assessed each pay period, so a single short-paid week is already an underpayment.
A worked check
A 22-year-old works 37.5 hours a week and is paid £470 a week. £470 ÷ 37.5 = £12.53 an hour — below the £12.71 National Living Wage, so they are underpaid by 18p an hour, or £6.75 a week, even though the weekly figure looks respectable. Add a £10 weekly uniform deduction and the figure falls to £12.27. This is why the hourly check matters: weekly and monthly pay figures hide hourly shortfalls, especially when unpaid overtime creeps in.
If you are underpaid
Start with payroll: ask for a breakdown of hours and deductions, since many cases are mis-recorded hours or a missed birthday moving you into a higher band. If the employer will not fix it, Acas offers free early conciliation, and HMRC's minimum wage enforcement team can investigate and order arrears going back up to six years, plus a penalty of up to 200% of the arrears. Keep payslips and a record of hours worked — the burden of proving compliance sits largely on the employer, but your own records make the case far faster.
To convert an annual salary into the hourly figure this check needs, use the salary to hourly calculator, and for the tax side see the personal allowance 2026 guide.