Rates by age and apprentices
Birthday pay rise: when a higher minimum wage starts
Enter a date of birth, how often you are paid and the start date of any one pay period: the tool finds the first period at the higher rate.
When a birthday raises your minimum
Higher rate from (age 18)
16 November 2026
| Turns 18 on | 15 November 2026 |
| Rate from that pay period | £10.85 |
| Turns 21 on | 15 November 2029 |
The new band starts with the first pay reference period that begins on or after the birthday.
A birthday that moves a worker into a higher band raises the legal minimum from the first pay reference period that starts on or after the birthday, not from the birthday itself. HMRC's guidance on calculating the minimum wage applies exactly the same approach as for the yearly rise on 1 April. Two birthdays matter for most workers: at 18 the rate goes from £8.00 to £10.85 an hour, and at 21 from £10.85 to £12.71, under the rates in force from 1 April 2026. A worker paid weekly waits at most six days; a worker paid by the calendar month whose birthday falls on the 2nd waits until the 1st of the next month. When the pay period happens to begin on the birthday, the new rate applies at once. A birthday shortly before 1 April can bring both rises into the same pay period: under the rates announced on 28 October 2026, a worker turning 21 in March 2027 and paid monthly from the 1st could move from £10.85 straight to £13.21 on 1 April 2027, once the regulations are made.
Minimum pay for one pay period
Minimum for this period
£2,033.60
| Pay period | Monthly |
| Hours this pay covers at the minimum | 157.3 |
| Result | £33.60 short |
Rates and rules read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
The two steps on the age scale
Each band covers an age on the first day of the pay reference period. Moving to a new band therefore waits for a new period to begin.
| Birthday | Rate before | Rate after, April 2026 rates | Rate after, April 2027 rates (announced) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18th | £8.00 | £10.85 | £11.27 |
| 21st | £10.85 | £12.71 | £13.21 |
| 19th, apprentice past the first year | £8.00 | £10.85 | £11.27 |
Why the pay period decides
The minimum wage is checked one pay reference period at a time: all the pay that counts for the period, divided by all the hours worked in it, must reach the rate that applies. HMRC's guidance gives the example of the April rise: when a worker's period runs from the 16th of each month, the old rate covers 16 March to 15 April and the new rate begins on 16 April. The guidance adds that the same approach applies when a worker reaches a birthday that makes them eligible for a higher rate.
So the start date depends on two things only: the birthday and the date the worker's pay periods begin. Payday makes no difference. A worker paid on the 28th for a calendar month still has periods that start on the 1st.
Worked examples by pay cycle
| Paid | Periods start | Birthday | Higher rate from | Wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly | Saturdays | Saturday 21 November 2026 | 21 November 2026 | none |
| Weekly | Saturdays | Sunday 22 November 2026 | 28 November 2026 | 6 days |
| Every two weeks | Mondays, from 7 September 2026 | 8 September 2026 | 21 September 2026 | 13 days |
| Monthly | the 1st | 2 January 2027 | 1 February 2027 | 30 days |
| Monthly | the 16th | 15 January 2027 | 16 January 2027 | 1 day |
The examples show that the wait has nothing to do with age. The same birthday can be followed by an almost immediate rise for one worker and a month's wait for a colleague on a different payroll, and both employers are within the law. What would break it is an employer that waits for the next April, or for the next pay review, before applying the new band.
Your rise on 1 April 2027
More per week from 1 April 2027
£15.75
| Today | £10.85 an hour |
| From 1 April 2027 | £11.27 an hour |
| Rise | 3.9% |
| More per year | £819 |
Same age and apprenticeship on both dates. A birthday before April moves you into the next band sooner.
Birthdays close to 1 April
Two changes can stack. The yearly rise applies from the first period that starts on or after 1 April, and the birthday rule from the first period that starts on or after the birthday. For a worker turning 21 on 29 March 2027 and paid weekly from Monday, the birthday rise comes first, on 29 March 2027, at £12.71; the April rise follows on 5 April 2027, at the £13.21 announced for 2027 under the announcement of 28 October 2026. For a worker paid monthly from the 1st with a birthday in March, both arrive together on 1 April. The April 2027 figures still depend on regulations being made; until then, the rates set by SI 2026/357 remain the law.
Checking the first payslip at the new age
Take the hours of the first period at the higher rate and multiply them by the new rate: the pay that counts must reach that figure. For a monthly paid worker on 160 hours who has just turned 21, that is £2,033.60 under the April 2026 rates. Overtime premiums and tips are left out of the comparison, and a charge for a uniform the job requires is taken off. A shortfall is arrears, repaid at the rate in force when it is paid. The pay reference period page explains how periods are counted, and the arrears page how back pay is worked out.