Weekly, monthly and yearly pay
Minimum wage as an annual salary
The hours are set to 37.5 a week: change your age, apprenticeship, year or hours to see the yearly minimum, with the weekly and monthly figures.
Minimum wage per week, month and year
Legal minimum per hour
£12.71
| Rate that applies | National Living Wage (21 and over) |
| Per week | £476.63 |
| Per month | £2,065.38 |
| Per year (52 weeks) | £24,784.50 |
Over a year of 52 weeks, the minimum wage from 1 April 2026 comes to £24,784.50 for 37.5 hours a week at the National Living Wage of £12.71, £26,436.80 for 40 hours and £23,132.20 for 35 hours. At the 18 to 20 rate a 37.5-hour year is £21,157.50, and at the 16 to 17 and apprentice rate £15,600. For a salaried job, the salary needed is the hourly rate times the basic annual hours in the contract. HMRC accepts that an employer may turn weekly hours into annual hours with a multiplier of 52, 52.14 or 52.18, provided it can show how the figure was reached; the higher the multiplier, the higher the salary needed. Under the rates announced on 28 October 2026 for April 2027, still to be set in regulations, a 37.5-hour year at 21 and over would come to £25,759.50. In April 2019 the same full-time year at the top rate paid £16,009.50. Workers aged 22 or over earning at least £10,000 a year are also enrolled in a workplace pension.
Take-home pay at the minimum wage
Take-home per month
£1,780.37
| Gross per year | £24,784.50 |
| Income Tax | £2,442.90 |
| National Insurance | £977.16 |
| Take-home per week | £410.85 |
Tax year 2026 to 2027, tax code 1257L, no pension, student loan or other income.
Rates and rules read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
A year at each rate
The figures below multiply the hourly rate by the weekly hours and by 52. They are gross, before Income Tax, National Insurance and any pension contribution.
| Hours a week | 21 and over, now | 21 and over, April 2027 (announced) | 18 to 20, now | 16 to 17 and apprentices, now |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | £10,574.72 | £10,990.72 | £9,027.20 | £6,656 |
| 20 | £13,218.40 | £13,738.40 | £11,284 | £8,320 |
| 30 | £19,827.60 | £20,607.60 | £16,926 | £12,480 |
| 35 | £23,132.20 | £24,042.20 | £19,747 | £14,560 |
| 37.5 | £24,784.50 | £25,759.50 | £21,157.50 | £15,600 |
| 40 | £26,436.80 | £27,476.80 | £22,568 | £16,640 |
The salary needed for a salaried contract
For a worker on an annual salary, HMRC's guidance on working hours compares the salary with the basic hours the contract sets for the year. The salary divided by those hours must reach the rate for the worker's age. The table gives the lowest legal salary at 21 and over for common contracts, counted on 52 weeks.
| Weekly hours | Basic hours a year | Lowest salary now | Lowest salary from April 2027 (announced) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | 1,820 | £23,132.20 | £24,042.20 |
| 37.5 | 1,950 | £24,784.50 | £25,759.50 |
| 39 | 2,028 | £25,775.88 | £26,789.88 |
| 40 | 2,080 | £26,436.80 | £27,476.80 |
A job advertised at £25,000 for 37.5 hours a week is legal today with £215.50 to spare, but would fall £759.50 short of the rate announced for April 2027 unless the salary rises. Workers who regularly go beyond their basic hours without extra pay can fall below the minimum later in the year, a case the salaried hours page works through.
Salary against the minimum per hour
Your pay per hour
£12.82
| Basic hours a year | 1,950 |
| Minimum today | £12.71 |
| Salary needed today | £24,784.50 |
| Salary needed from April 2027 | £25,759.50 |
A full-time year since 2019
The yearly value of the top rate at 37.5 hours a week, with the age it started at each year.
| From April | Top rate from age | Year at 37.5 hours | Change on the year before |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 25 | £16,009.50 | - |
| 2020 | 25 | £17,004 | +£994.50 |
| 2021 | 23 | £17,374.50 | +£370.50 |
| 2022 | 23 | £18,525 | +£1,150.50 |
| 2023 | 23 | £20,319 | +£1,794 |
| 2024 | 21 | £22,308 | +£1,989 |
| 2025 | 21 | £23,809.50 | +£1,501.50 |
| 2026 | 21 | £24,784.50 | +£975 |
| 2027 (announced) | 21 | £25,759.50 | +£975 |
The biggest single step came in April 2024, when the full-time year at the top rate grew by almost £2,000 and the starting age dropped to 21.
Pension and the yearly figure
Workplace pensions use the yearly figure too. Under the GOV.UK rules, an employer must automatically enrol a worker aged 22 up to State Pension age who earns at least £10,000 a year. Minimum contributions are 3% from the employer and 5% from the worker, on qualifying earnings rather than on the whole salary. A worker's own contribution comes out of their pay but does not lower the pay that counts for the minimum wage when it is paid to the pension scheme; salary sacrifice is different and does reduce it. The after tax page shows what a year at the minimum leaves after Income Tax and National Insurance.