💷 UK Minimum Wage · From 1 April 2026

National Living Wage
Calculator & Rates 2026

UK minimum wage rates from 1 April 2026 — NLW £12.71/hr for workers aged 21+. Enter your age and hours to see your annual salary and take-home pay.

Current rates — effective 1 April 2026
National Living Wage · Age 21+
£12.71
per hour
£24,784/yr · 37.5hrs/wk
↑ £0.50 from £12.21 (4.1%)
National Minimum Wage · Age 18–20
£10.85
per hour
£21,157/yr · 37.5hrs/wk
↑ £0.85 from £10.00 (8.5%)
National Minimum Wage · Age 16–17
£8.00
per hour
£15,600/yr · 37.5hrs/wk
↑ £0.45 from £7.55 (6.0%)
Apprentice Rate · Year 1 any age / Under 19
£8.00
per hour
£15,600/yr · 37.5hrs/wk
↑ £0.45 from £7.55 (6.0%)
Real Living Wage (voluntary): £13.45/hr outside London · £14.80/hr in London — set by the Living Wage Foundation. Not legally required but over 15,000 UK employers are accredited. Always higher than the statutory NLW.

Your minimum wage check

Standard = 52. Deduct holiday weeks if term-time or seasonal.
Enter what you're currently being paid to check compliance
✅ Compliant: Your hourly rate meets or exceeds the minimum wage for your age band.

Your earnings breakdown

Minimum annual salary
£24,784
37.5hrs/wk × 52 weeks × £12.71
Hourly rate
£12.71
£2,065
Monthly gross
£476
Weekly gross
£21,520
Est. take-home/yr
£1,793
Est. take-home/mo
All age bands at your hours
Age bandHourlyAnnual gross

Take-home estimates based on 2026/27 HMRC rates, standard 1257L tax code, no pension or student loan.

NLW vs Real Living Wage — what's the difference?

The National Living Wage is the legal statutory minimum. Every employer must pay it. The rate for 2026/27 is £12.71 per hour for workers aged 21 and over — a 4.1% increase from April 2026.

The Real Living Wage is a separate, voluntary rate set by the independent Living Wage Foundation based on the actual cost of living. It is currently £13.45 per hour outside London and £14.80 per hour in London. Over 15,000 UK employers voluntarily pay the Real Living Wage, but there is no legal obligation to do so.

The London Living Wage (£14.80/hr) reflects the higher cost of living in the capital. It is also voluntary and set annually by the Living Wage Foundation.

In practice, a full-time worker on the National Living Wage earns around £24,784 per year gross — placing them at roughly the 15th percentile of UK full-time earnings. Around 4.4 million workers (one in seven) are currently paid below the Real Living Wage.

Who qualifies — and who doesn't

Frequently asked questions

The National Living Wage is £12.71 per hour from 1 April 2026 for workers aged 21 and over — up from £12.21 (a 4.1% increase). On a standard 37.5-hour week this equals £24,784 per year gross.
From 1 April 2026: workers aged 18–20 receive £10.85 per hour (up 8.5% from £10.00). Workers aged 16–17 and apprentices in their first year receive £8.00 per hour (up 6% from £7.55).
The National Living Wage (£12.71/hr) is the legal statutory minimum — all employers must pay it. The Real Living Wage (£13.45/hr outside London, £14.80/hr in London) is a voluntary higher rate set by the Living Wage Foundation based on actual cost of living. Over 15,000 employers pay it voluntarily but it is not a legal requirement.
You are entitled if you are aged 21 or over and work for a UK employer — whether full-time, part-time, zero-hours, casual or agency. You are not entitled if you are self-employed, a company director, a family business member living in the employer's home, or a volunteer.
No — this is illegal. Salary sacrifice pension contributions reduce your cash pay for minimum wage purposes, and your post-sacrifice hourly rate cannot fall below the applicable minimum wage for your age. Employers must check this before offering salary sacrifice to lower-paid workers.
Contact Acas on 0300 123 1100 or report via gov.uk. HMRC investigates all complaints and can order employers to repay arrears plus a 200% penalty. You can also raise a claim in an Employment Tribunal. Your employer cannot legally dismiss or penalise you for making a minimum wage complaint.

See your full take-home pay

Use the salary calculator to add pension, student loan and other deductions for a precise monthly figure.

Salary calculator → £25k after tax →

📋 Source: Rates from gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates. Effective 1 April 2026. Real Living Wage from the Living Wage Foundation. Take-home estimates are approximate — not financial advice.