National Minimum Wage from April 2026: £12.71, £10.85 and £8 an hour, and how to check a client's pay run, worked

An employer client has a student on Saturdays, an apprentice on the shop floor and a full-time worker who has just had a birthday. They ask whether all three are paid at least the legal minimum. The answer depends on the person's age and apprenticeship status on the day, so a pay run needs more than one hourly figure. This guide sets out the GOV.UK rates and checks a sample pay run.

What the source says

GOV.UK lists the rates that apply from 1 April 2026:

The apprentice rate applies to apprentices aged under 19, and to those aged 19 or over in the first year of the apprenticeship. An apprentice aged 19 or over who has finished the first year gets the rate for their age band. The same page lists the rates from 1 April 2027: £13.21, £11.27, £8.31 and £8.31.

The sums: what each rate means in a pay run

Weekly pay is the hourly rate x 40 hours; yearly pay is the weekly figure x 52. The 40 hours is an example, not a rule from the source.

Check: £12.71 x 40 = £508.40, and £508.40 x 52 = £26,436.80. £10.85 x 40 = £434.00, and £434.00 x 52 = £22,568.00. £8 x 40 = £320.00, and £320 x 52 = £16,640.00.

Two cases that catch a pay run out

A worker turns 21. The rate that applies depends on age, so the band changes from the birthday. The gap is £12.71 - £10.85 = £1.86 an hour, or £1.86 x 40 = £74.40 a week. If a payroll keeps paying £10.85 for 4 weeks after the birthday, the shortfall is £74.40 x 4 = £297.60. I did not read how HMRC treats pay periods that straddle a birthday, so check the pay period rules before relying on a week-by-week split.

An apprentice finishes the first year. A 20-year-old apprentice is on £8.00 in the first year. In the second year the age-band rate applies, which is £10.85. The rise is £10.85 - £8.00 = £2.85 an hour, or £2.85 x 40 = £114.00 a week. A 17-year-old apprentice stays at the £8 rate under the "under 19" rule, but is also in the under-18 band at £8, so the two lines agree.

What is coming in April 2027

Check: £0.50 / £12.71 = 3.93%; £0.42 / £10.85 = 3.87%; £0.31 / £8.00 = 3.88%. All round to 3.9%. For a 40-hour week the 21 and over rise is £0.50 x 40 = £20.00 a week, or £1,040.00 over 52 weeks.

Why it matters to the client

• Check each person's age against the pay run. Dates of birth change the band mid-year, and a spreadsheet with one rate per employer will miss it.
• Apprentice status needs a date. Record the start of the apprenticeship, because the first-year test turns on it.
• Pay costs more than the hourly rate. Employer costs on top are covered in what a new hire costs a client at 15% employer NI, and a small employer may offset some of it with the Employment Allowance. Pension contributions are in auto-enrolment at 8% of qualifying earnings.

What I did not read

I did not read the GOV.UK guidance on what counts as working time, unpaid hours, deductions, accommodation, salaried hours or penalties for underpayment, or the rules for workers under school leaving age. The tables assume a plain hourly worker on 40 hours and 52 paid weeks, and I have not checked any client's contract or pay dates.

Overlyft builds AI staff who join your practice team and take the pay-run check for a client, compare each employee's date of birth and apprenticeship start with the rate bands and flag anyone close to the floor, with a person approving before anything is sent to the client.

This is general information, not legal or financial advice. Check the GOV.UK pages for your client's case.