If you’re paid by the hour, the shift, or the day, it’s worth knowing exactly what the law says you’re owed — because payroll mistakes happen more often than you’d think. The National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates changed on 1 April 2026, and if your pay hasn’t kept up, you could be losing money every single shift. Here’s exactly what you should be earning, who qualifies for which rate, and what to do if the numbers don’t add up.

The current UK minimum wage rates (from 1 April 2026)

These rates apply from 1 April 2026, as set out by the Low Pay Commission and confirmed by GOV.UK.

National Living Wage (21 and over): £12.71 per hour
18-20 Year Old Rate: £10.85 per hour
16-17 Year Old Rate: £8.00 per hour
Apprentice Rate: £8.00 per hour
Accommodation Offset: £11.10 per day

The accommodation offset is the maximum amount your employer can charge you for living accommodation before it starts eating into your minimum wage pay. If you’re charged more than that per day, and it pushes your effective hourly pay below the minimum, your employer is breaking the law.

Who gets which rate

Your age on the first day of each pay reference period decides which rate applies to you, not your age when you started the job. The National Living Wage applies to everyone 21 and over. The 18-20 Year Old Rate has been rising faster than the adult rate for the past few years, closing the gap deliberately, so it’s worth checking your payslip even if you were used to a lower rate last year. Apprentices only 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 is entitled to the full rate for their age.

This is exactly the kind of detail that’s easy to lose track of when you’re juggling multiple shifts across different employers. Logging your hours and pay in wac as you go means you always have a record of what you actually worked and earned, so a rate change or a payroll error doesn’t slip past you.

How the rates are decided

The Low Pay Commission, an independent body made up of employer, worker and academic representatives, recommends the rates to government every year based on the cost of living, wages, and the state of the labour market. The current target is for the National Living Wage to reach roughly two-thirds of median UK hourly earnings. Because the rates change every April, it’s worth checking them annually even if you’ve been in the same job for years — a rate rise doesn’t apply itself, and it’s your employer’s responsibility to update your pay from the date it takes effect, not whenever they get round to it.

What to do if you’re not getting the right rate

Start by checking your last few payslips against the rate for your age band. If the numbers don’t match, raise it with your employer first — most underpayment is a payroll error rather than deliberate, and it’s often resolved quickly once flagged. If that doesn’t work, or you don’t feel comfortable raising it directly, you can complain to HMRC confidentially, and you don’t need to tell your employer first. HMRC can order employers to repay arrears going back up to six years and fine them up to £20,000 per underpaid worker.

If you’re not sure whether you’ve already been underpaid, our guide on what to do if you’ve been underpaid walks through the full process step by step, including how to work out what you’re owed.

FAQ

Do 16 and 17-year-olds get the same minimum wage as adults?
No. Workers under 18 are entitled to the 16-17 Year Old Rate of £8.00 per hour, not the National Living Wage, unless they’re an apprentice in their first year, in which case the Apprentice Rate applies.

Can my employer deduct money that takes me below minimum wage?
Some deductions, like tax, National Insurance, and pension contributions, are fine even if they take your take-home pay below the minimum wage threshold, because the calculation is based on gross pay. But deductions for things like uniforms or till shortages generally can’t reduce your pay below the legal minimum.

How do I check I’m being paid correctly?
Compare your payslip to the rate for your age band, and use GOV.UK’s minimum wage calculator if you want a precise check across a full pay period. Keeping your own record of hours worked in wac makes this much easier, especially if your shifts or rate change from week to week.

What if my employer says the higher rate doesn’t apply to my industry?
There’s no industry exemption from the National Minimum Wage. A handful of specific groups are excluded, such as the genuinely self-employed and some volunteers, but if you’re working set shifts under someone else’s direction, the minimum wage almost certainly applies to you.

Staying on top of shifting rates, multiple employers, and irregular hours is hard enough without also double-checking every payslip by hand. wac tracks your shifts and earnings automatically, so you can see your actual hourly rate at a glance and catch underpayment before it becomes a bigger problem. Read more about your wider pay rights as a shift worker in our full guide, Your UK Pay Rights, Explained.