# Apprentice pay in a pub or restaurant: £8 an hour in year one, then the rate for their age, worked

> An apprentice aged 19 or over is on £8 an hour only in the first year; a 20-year-old on 30 hours moves from £240 to £325.50 a week in year two.

- Page to cite: https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/apprentice-minimum-wage-pub-restaurant-8-pounds-first-year-age-19-rule-30-hours-worked/
- Publisher: AEO Lookup (https://aeolookup.com/)
- Section: Restaurants, pubs and small hotels, Staff, rotas and tips
- Published 27 October 2026
- Key fact: A 20-year-old apprentice on 30 hours a week costs £240.00 a week at £8 and £325.50 a week at £10.85 once the first year is done, a rise of £85.50 a week, or £4,446 over 52 weeks. If they turn 21 in year two, the same hours at £12.71 cost £381.30 a week.
- Sources: GOV.UK, "National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates" (from April 2026, 21 and over £12.71, 18 to 20 £10.85, under 18 £8, apprentice £8; the apprentice rate applies to apprentices under 19, or 19 or over in the first year; after the first year the rate for their age applies) and GOV.UK, "Pay and conditions for apprentices" (pay at least the minimum wage; time off for training must be paid; same conditions as other employees in similar roles, including paid holiday). Read 27 October 2026. Hours limits, funding and how a first year is counted in unusual cases were not on the pages read.

A pub kitchen takes on a commis chef apprentice on a Monday. The head chef quotes £8 an hour, because that is the apprentice rate. Twelve months later the apprentice is still on £8, and nobody has looked at the calendar.

## The rule on GOV.UK

The rates page lists, from April 2026: 21 and over £12.71, 18 to 20 £10.85, under 18 £8 and apprentice £8. It says an apprentice gets the apprentice rate if they are either:

- aged under 19, or
- aged 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship.

An apprentice aged 19 or over who has finished the first year gets the minimum wage for their age. The page's own example is an apprentice aged 21 who has completed year one, who is entitled to £12.71.

The apprentice pay page adds that you must pay apprentices at least the minimum wage, that they must get time off in the working week for training and be paid for it, and that they must get "the same conditions as other employees working at similar grades or in similar roles", which includes paid holiday.

## Weekly cost worked

Example: a 20-year-old on 30 hours a week, training time counted as paid hours.

| Stage | Rate | Hours | Weekly cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| First year, apprentice rate | £8.00 | 30 | £240.00 |
| After first year, aged 20 | £10.85 | 30 | £325.50 |
| After first year, aged 21 | £12.71 | 30 | £381.30 |

Our arithmetic. £10.85 minus £8.00 is £2.85 an hour, and £2.85 times 30 is £85.50 a week. Over 52 weeks that is £4,446.00 (£85.50 times 52). Check from the other side: £240.00 times 52 is £12,480; £325.50 times 52 is £16,926; the difference is £4,446. This is wages only, before employer National Insurance and holiday.

A 16 or 17-year-old is on £8 whether they are an apprentice or not, so the apprentice rate saves a venue nothing there. The saving is on the 19 and over starter, and it lasts one year.

## Where it goes wrong in a pub or restaurant

- **No diary date.** The step up is due when the first year ends, so put the date in the rota system the day they start.
- **Unpaid college days.** Training time counts as paid time on the pay page, so a day at college is not a day off without pay.
- **Treating them as cheap cover.** They are owed the same conditions as other staff in similar roles, holiday included. Check tips too: see [do tips count towards minimum wage](https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/do-tips-count-towards-minimum-wage-pub-restaurant-2026/).

## What to have to hand

- **A start and step-up date** for each apprentice in the starter file: see [the new starter checklist](https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/new-starter-checklist-restaurant-pub-staff/).
- **The new weekly cost** in the rota budget: see [the rota cost calculator](https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/rota-cost-calculator-hospitality-employer-ni/).
- **Age checks for the pay band,** since a birthday can move the rate too: see [hiring under 21s](https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/hiring-under-21s-pub-bar-staff-minimum-wage-2026-hours-alcohol-sales/).

I did not read how the first year is counted if an apprenticeship is paused or extended, or any funding rules, so take advice on those.

Overlyft ![](https://aeolookup.com/img/d/ours-badge.png) builds AI staff who join your venue team and take the job of watching start dates, ages and step-up dates, and drafting the rota cost each month, while the manager approves every pay change.

This is general information, not legal advice. Check GOV.UK before you rely on it.

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General information for UK small firms, not legal, tax or financial advice.