Check whether your pay meets the legal minimum. Enter what you were paid and all the hours you worked for it, and this compares your effective hourly rate against the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage for your age.
The rate on your contract is not what the law measures. What matters is your average across the whole pay period — which is why unpaid overtime, unpaid training time, and rounding that only goes down can breach the minimum wage even when the contracted rate is perfectly legal.
The short version
- Rates by age
- Four bands: 21 and over, 18 to 20, under 18, and apprentices. All change each April.
- What counts
- Gross pay before tax. Tips, overtime premiums and expenses do not count towards it.
- Deductions
- Anything taken for your employer's benefit reduces the figure and can push you below the rate.
- Accommodation
- The only benefit that can count, and only up to the daily offset.
- Enforcement
- HMRC enforces it, including for past employment, and you can report anonymously.
How to use the minimum wage checker
- Enter your total pay Gross pay for one pay period, before deductions. Do not include expenses or a tips allocation, which are treated separately.
- Enter all the hours Every hour you actually worked in that period, including overtime, required training and time spent waiting to start. This is the number employers most often get wrong.
- Enter your age Rates step up at 18 and 21. The rate changes from the first pay period after a birthday.
- Tick apprentice if it applies The apprentice rate applies to apprentices under 19, or those over 19 in the first year of their apprenticeship. After that the age rate applies.
Worked examples
Common questions
What counts as working time?
Time actually working, required training, time spent travelling between jobs, and time waiting to start where you are required to be there. It does not include your normal commute or rest breaks.
My contract rate is legal but my pay seems low. Why?
Because the minimum wage is measured on your average across the whole pay period, not on the contracted rate. Ten unpaid extra hours on a legal rate will still drag your average below the minimum, and that is a breach.
Can my employer deduct for accommodation?
Only up to the accommodation offset, which is set annually. Deducting more than that counts against your minimum wage pay and can create an underpayment.
What about tips?
Tips cannot be counted towards the minimum wage. They must be on top of it. Since 2024 employers must also pass on all tips to workers.
What if I am being underpaid?
Raise it with your employer first. If that fails, HMRC enforces the minimum wage and you can report an employer confidentially. Employers found in breach must repay arrears at current rates, face penalties of up to 200% of the underpayment, and are publicly named.
When do the rates change?
Every April. Your rate also changes from the first pay period after your birthday when you move into a higher age band.
Does the rate change on my birthday?
Not on the day itself. The new rate applies from the start of the next pay reference period after your birthday, so if you are paid monthly and turn 21 mid-month, the higher rate starts the following month.
I am on a salary. Can I still be underpaid?
Yes, and it is the most common underpayment HMRC finds. Divide your total pay by your total hours for the period, including any extra hours you regularly work. A salary that looks comfortable can fall below the hourly minimum once unpaid overtime is counted.
What the terms mean
- National Living Wage
- The highest rate, for workers aged 21 and over. It changes each April.
- National Minimum Wage
- The rates for workers under 21 and for apprentices. Four bands in total, all reviewed each April.
- Pay reference period
- The period your pay covers — usually a week or a month. Rates change from the start of the next one after a birthday, not on the day.
- Accommodation offset
- The daily amount of employer-provided accommodation that can count towards the minimum wage. Anything charged above it counts as a deduction.
- Deductions
- Amounts taken from pay. Those for the employer's benefit, such as uniform or till shortages, reduce your pay for minimum wage purposes.
- Apprentice rate
- The lowest rate, for apprentices under 19 or in the first year of an apprenticeship. After that the age-based rate applies.
Guides on this subject
-
Minimum wage: what counts, and how underpayment happens
The rate on your contract is not what the law measures. How the minimum wage is actually calculated, and the…
-
Overtime pay rules in the UK: what you are actually entitled to
There is no legal right to extra pay for overtime in the UK. What your contract controls, and what the…
-
Timesheet rounding rules: when is it legal to round hours?
Rounding clock-in times is common in UK payroll and not automatically unlawful. What makes it lawful, and why rounding down…
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