Minimum wage checker

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.

Gross, for one pay period, before deductions.

Every hour you actually worked, including overtime and required training.

Rates step up at 18 and at 21.

Applies if you are under 19, or in the first year of your apprenticeship.

Your effective hourly rate £12.71
Legal minimum for your age £10.85

Calculated using England & Wales statutory rules. Figures last checked against source on 5 September 2026.

How this was worked out
Total pay
£2,033.60
Hours worked
160h
Effective hourly rate
£12.71 Total pay divided by all the hours you worked, which is what the law measures.
Applicable rate
£10.85 18 to 20
Result
Meets the minimum £1.86 an hour above the legal minimum.

Things that could change this figure

  • The apprentice rate applies to apprentices under 19, or those aged 19 and over in the first year of their apprenticeship. After that the rate for their age applies. Read the guide
  • The minimum wage is measured on your average pay across the whole pay reference period, not on your contracted hourly rate. Unpaid overtime or required training can breach it even when the contracted rate is legal. Read the guide
  • Some deductions reduce your minimum wage pay, including accommodation above the offset and costs you are required to meet for the job. Tips can never count towards the minimum wage. Read the guide

Sources

Please read

This compares your effective rate against the statutory minimum. It does not account for accommodation offsets, salary sacrifice, or the detailed rules on which deductions reduce minimum wage pay.

If you think you are being underpaid, HMRC enforces the minimum wage and you can report it confidentially. Acas offers free advice on 0300 123 1100.

How to use the minimum wage checker

  1. Enter your total pay Gross pay for one pay period, before deductions. Do not include expenses or a tips allocation, which are treated separately.
  2. 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.
  3. Enter your age Rates step up at 18 and 21. The rate changes from the first pay period after a birthday.
  4. 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.

Guides on this subject

Figures on this page are checked against primary sources and dated. They are not legal, tax or financial advice.

HoursHQ is an independent site and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to GOV.UK, HMRC, Acas or any government body.