Minimum wage checker
Is this pay period legal? Enter the hours and pay that count, the deductions and any accommodation. You see the hourly rate it works out at, the minimum for their age, and any shortfall to put right.
The rates used
Read from the same statutory reference data KivoHR’s minimum wage check uses, and checked against GOV.UK.
- 21 and over
- £12.71
Source: National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates, GOV.UK (opens in a new tab), checked 2 Nov 2026
- 18 to 20
- £10.85
Source: National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates, GOV.UK (opens in a new tab), checked 2 Nov 2026
- 16 and 17, and apprentices
- £8.00
Source: National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates, GOV.UK (opens in a new tab), checked 2 Nov 2026
- Accommodation offset, a day
- £11.10
Source: National Minimum Wage (opens in a new tab), checked 2 Nov 2026
Hourly rates from 1 April 2026. The checker covers pay periods starting 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2028, so it uses April 2025’s rates for a period that starts before April 2026, and the rates from 1 April 2027 (£13.21 for 21 and over, the accommodation offset £11.53 a day) for one that starts on or after it, as the government announced them.
Source: LPC recommendations take the National Living Wage to £13.21, GOV.UK (opens in a new tab), checked 2 Nov 2026
What counts as pay and working time is in GOV.UK’s guidance on calculating the minimum wage, from the National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015. GOV.UK also has a calculator for employers, and our guide to the rates explains each rate.This calculator gives the legal minimum as guidance, not legal advice. For one person’s situation, check their contract, or ask Acas (0300 123 1100, free) or a solicitor.
Pay checked against the minimum, for you
KivoHR checks each contract’s recorded pay against the minimum wage for the person’s age, or the apprentice rate, with a salary turned into an hourly rate from the contract’s weekly hours. It warns before a birthday, the end of an apprenticeship’s first year or April’s new rates take the minimum above someone’s pay, and says whose pay it can’t check.
Minimum wage questions.
Which rate do I use?
The rate in force on the first day of the pay period, for the worker’s age on that day. Rates change each year on 1 April. An apprentice under 19, or of 19 or over in the first year of the apprenticeship, gets the apprentice rate; after that first year, an apprentice of 19 or over gets the rate for their age.
What counts as pay?
Basic pay and bonuses. Tips and service charges don’t count, nor does the extra part of overtime or shift pay above the basic rate. Expenses and benefits in kind don’t count either, except accommodation, which has its own rule.
Which hours count?
All the time they work, paid or not. That includes training, travel between assignments, time you require them to spend before or after a shift, and time on call at the workplace.
Which deductions take pay below the minimum?
Deductions or payments for your own use and benefit, and for things the worker needs for the job, such as a uniform, tools or safety gear. Deductions for a till shortfall, damage or an advance of wages don’t reduce it, nor do tax, National Insurance and pension contributions. A salary sacrifice does, because it lowers the pay itself: enter the pay after it.
How does accommodation count?
If you charge more than the offset (£11.10 a day from 1 April 2026), the amount above it is taken off pay for minimum wage purposes. If the accommodation is free, the offset is added to pay for each day you provide it. A charge at or below the offset makes no difference.
What if someone was underpaid?
Pay the arrears straight away. You can be made to pay them, fined and named. Keep pay records for at least 6 years.
Do it automatically in KivoHR.
14 days free, no card needed.