Rates by age and apprentices
Minimum wage at 17: pay now and the step up at 18
Your age and hours are filled in for a 17 year old on 20 hours a week: change them to see the minimum per week, month and year.
Minimum wage per week, month and year
Legal minimum per hour
£8.00
| Rate that applies | National Minimum Wage (16 to 17) |
| Per week | £160 |
| Per month | £693.33 |
| Per year (52 weeks) | £8,320 |
At 17 the legal minimum is the 16 to 17 rate, £8.00 an hour from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. The biggest pay rise a young worker gets from the law comes a year later: from the first pay reference period that starts on or after the 18th birthday, the 18 to 20 rate of £10.85 applies, £2.85 more per hour, or 35.6%. On 20 hours a week that lifts the minimum from £160 to £217. For a birthday on or after 1 April 2027, the rates announced on 28 October 2026 would apply instead: £8.31 before and £11.27 after. Until 18, the working time rules are tighter than for adults: no more than 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week, with no averaging and no opt-out, a 30 minute break on any shift of more than 4.5 hours, 12 hours' rest between working days and 48 hours' rest each week.
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.
Rates and rules read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
The step up at 18
The law groups 16 and 17 year olds in one band and 18 to 20 year olds in the next, so the 18th birthday brings the largest age-based rise on the scale. Which rates apply depends on whether the birthday falls before or after the April change.
| 18th birthday falls | Rate at 17 | Rate at 18 | Extra on a 20-hour week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027 | £8.00 | £10.85 | £57.00 |
| From 1 April 2027 (announced) | £8.31 | £11.27 | £59.20 |
The rise does not follow the calendar day. HMRC's guidance applies the same approach to birthdays as to the April rise: the higher rate covers each pay reference period that starts on or after the date.
Finding the first pay period at 18
A pay reference period is the stretch of time a payment covers: a week, two weeks, four weeks or a month, never longer. Two examples show how far the start of the new rate can fall from the birthday itself.
Jade is paid weekly for Monday to Sunday and turns 18 on Wednesday 14 October 2026. The week that began on Monday 12 October stays at £8.00; the 18 to 20 rate applies from Monday 19 October 2026, five days after the birthday.
Owen is paid monthly for the period running from the 16th of one month to the 15th of the next, and turns 18 on 21 November 2026. His period from 16 November started before the birthday, so the higher rate begins on 16 December 2026, almost four weeks later. A worker paid for calendar months whose birthday falls on the 2nd waits close to a whole month in the same way. The birthday rise page has more cases, including a birthday close to 1 April.
Hours and breaks while you are 17
The working time rules protect young workers more than adults, and the difference ends on the 18th birthday.
| Rule | Under 18 | 18 and over |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly hours | 40 at most, never averaged, no opt-out | 48 on average, opt-out possible |
| Break during the shift | 30 minutes if working more than 4.5 hours | 20 minutes if working more than 6 hours |
On top of the weekly cap, a 17 year old may not work more than 8 hours in a day, must have 12 hours' rest between working days and 48 hours' rest each week. For pay, rest breaks are not working time under HMRC's rules on hours unless the contract pays for them, so a long shift with a half-hour break counts half an hour less.
Pay and hours for a 16 or 17 year old
Minimum per week
£240
| Per hour | £8.00 |
| Per week from 1 April 2027 | £249.30 |
| Legal weekly limit under 18 | 40 hours |
| Your hours | within the limit |
Weekly pay just before and just after 18
For a 17 year old on regular hours, this is what the same week is worth on either side of the birthday under the April 2026 rates.
| Hours in the week | At 17 | At 18 | Extra over a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 hours | £96 | £130.20 | £1,778.40 |
| 20 hours | £160 | £217 | £2,964 |
| 30 hours | £240 | £325.50 | £4,446 |
| 40 hours | £320 | £434 | £5,928 |
At 40 hours the gap is worth more than £5,000 a year. Once 18, the 40-hour cap falls away, though the adult limit of 48 hours on average still applies unless the worker opts out.
If the payslip stays at the old rate
An employer that keeps paying £8.00 after the first full pay period at 18 owes the difference as arrears, and arrears are repaid at the rate in force when they are paid, not the old one. Keep payslips and a note of the birthday. The first step is to raise it with the employer; after that, Acas answers on 0300 123 1100, and the pay and work rights complaint form reaches HMRC, which enforces the minimum wage. The arrears page shows the calculation.