Minimum wage 2026: the rates, who is covered and how to get arrears back

The minimum wage in the UK is not a figure in your contract. It is what you were actually paid, divided by the hours you actually worked. That is why you can be on £13 an hour and still be underpaid — if money comes off for a uniform or for tools. Here are the 2026 rates, who they cover, and how to get arrears back.

What are the current rates?

From 1 April 2026 the hourly rates are £12.71 for workers aged 21 and over (the National Living Wage), £10.85 for 18 to 20, £8 for under 18 and £8 for apprentices. The rates change on 1 April every year. For comparison, from April 2025 to March 2026 they were £12.21, £10, £7.55 and £7.55.

The apprentice rate applies to anyone under 19, and to anyone older who is in the first year of their apprenticeship. GOV.UK's own example: a 21-year-old apprentice in the first year is entitled to £8 an hour, while the same 21-year-old who has completed that first year is entitled to £12.71.

Who gets it, and who does not?

Anyone legally classed as a "worker" who is at least school leaving age; the National Living Wage starts at 21. A contract paying less than the minimum is not legally binding — the entitlement stands regardless.

The list of people covered names part-time staff, casual labourers hired for a single day, agency workers, people paid by the piece and homeworkers, apprentices, trainees and workers on probation, disabled workers, agricultural workers, foreign workers, seafarers, offshore workers, and non-family members living in the employer's home who share in the work and leisure and are treated as one of the family — au pairs, for instance.

Not entitled: self-employed people running their own business, company directors, volunteers and voluntary workers, people on a government employment programme, members of the armed forces, family members of the employer living in the employer's home, workers below school leaving age (usually 16), higher and further education students on work experience or a placement of up to one year, people shadowing others at work, workers on government pre-apprenticeship schemes, and people on a Jobcentre Plus work trial of up to six weeks.

How is it worked out if you are not paid by the hour?

The minimum wage is always an hourly rate, whatever the pay arrangement. The law distinguishes four kinds: paid by the hour (time work), an annual salary for a basic number of hours a year (salaried hours), paid by the piece or task (output work), and everything else (unmeasured work). In each case the equivalent hourly rate has to be worked out, and GOV.UK publishes an official National Minimum Wage calculator for it.

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What counts as working time?

Counted: time at work when you are required to be working, or on standby near the workplace (rest breaks taken are not counted); downtime from a machine breakdown if you are kept at the workplace; waiting to collect goods, meet someone for work or start a job; travelling in connection with work, including between assignments; training and travel to training; and time under certain work-related responsibilities even when you are allowed to sleep.

Not counted: travel between home and work; rest breaks, holidays, sick leave and maternity leave; industrial action; and time not working but at or near the workplace during a period when you are allowed to sleep and a place to sleep is provided.

What is left out of the calculation, and what is included?

This is where the trap sits. Not counted in your favour: payments for the employer's own use or benefit, such as travel to work the employer paid for; things the worker bought for the job and was not refunded for — tools, uniform, safety equipment; tips, service charges and cover charges; extra pay for unsocial hours on a shift.

Counted: Income Tax and National Insurance contributions, wage advances or loans and their repayment, repayment of overpaid wages, things the worker paid for voluntarily that are not needed for the job such as meals, employer-provided accommodation above the offset rate of £11.10 a day or £77.70 a week, and penalty charges for a worker's misconduct.

What do you do if you are being underpaid?

Talk to the employer first. If that does not settle it, ask in writing to see the payment records: you can take someone with you and make copies. Any arrears owed have to be paid back. There is a confidential Acas helpline for pay disputes.

You can also complain to HM Revenue and Customs — about your own employer, about an employment agency, or on someone else's behalf. GOV.UK has an online form, "Complain about pay and work rights", which also covers breaches of the 48-hour working week limit and problems with agencies. Separately, a worker can go to an employment tribunal directly, and anyone dismissed over a minimum wage dispute can claim unfair dismissal there.

What happens to the employer?

If HMRC finds underpayment, the employer gets a notice for the arrears plus a fine. If they still refuse to pay, HMRC can take them to court on the worker's behalf. One structural change this year: from 7 April 2026 a new government body, the Fair Work Agency, began operating, replacing the GLAA — and HMRC now enforces the minimum wage on its behalf.