# Workplace pension for bar and floor staff: the £10,000 trigger, age 22 and the 8% minimum, worked by weekly hours

> Which pub or restaurant staff must be auto-enrolled? GOV.UK: age 22 up, £10,000 a year, 8% minimum, 3% from you. Worked for 8 to 30 hours a week.

- Page to cite: https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/workplace-pension-auto-enrolment-bar-staff-10000-trigger-age-22-8-percent-worked-by-weekly-hours/
- Publisher: AEO Lookup (https://aeolookup.com/)
- Section: Restaurants, pubs and small hotels, Staff, rotas and tips
- Published 21 October 2026
- Key fact: At an assumed £12.00 an hour over 52 weeks, 16 hours a week earns £9,984 (under the £10,000 trigger) but 17 hours earns £10,608 (over it). For the 17-hour worker the qualifying band is £10,608 - £6,240 = £4,368, so 8% is £349.44 a year and your 3% share is £131.04. At 30 hours it is £998.40 in total and £374.40 from you.
- Sources: GOV.UK, Workplace pensions: joining a workplace pension (www.gov.uk/workplace-pensions/joining-a-workplace-pension) and What you, your employer and the government pay (www.gov.uk/workplace-pensions/what-you-your-employer-and-the-government-pay): auto-enrolment for workers aged 22 to State Pension age earning at least £10,000 a year; employer need not contribute at £520 a month, £120 a week or £480 over 4 weeks or less; 8% total, 3% employer, 5% employee; band £6,240 to £50,270; delay of up to 3 months. Read 21 October 2026.

Most pubs and restaurants run on part-time staff, and a workplace pension is one of the first duties an owner trips over when a bar team grows. Who has to be enrolled depends on age and pay, not on a job title, so the sum differs from person to person on the same rota.

## What GOV.UK says

The GOV.UK pages on workplace pensions set out these points:

- Your employer must enrol you automatically if you are classed as a **worker**, are **aged between 22 and State Pension age**, **earn at least £10,000 a year** and ordinarily work in the UK.
- Staff outside those criteria can usually still **join if they ask**, and the employer cannot refuse. The page gives no specific age or earnings limits for this.
- The employer **does not have to contribute** for someone earning **£520 a month, £120 a week or £480 over 4 weeks, or less**.
- The minimum total contribution is **8%**, of which the employer pays at least **3%** and the employee **5%**. The page marks the 8% "from April 2019".
- Contributions are worked on earnings **between £6,240 and £50,270** a year before tax, and earnings include wages, bonuses, commission, overtime and statutory pay such as sick pay.
- Enrolment can be **delayed by up to 3 months**, with written notice to the worker, who can still join in the meantime if they ask.
- The employer cannot encourage or force someone to opt out, or treat them unfairly for being in the scheme.

## The sum by weekly hours

I assumed a rate of **£12.00 an hour** (an assumption for the sum, not a legal figure) over 52 weeks, for a worker aged 22 or over. The qualifying amount is yearly pay minus £6,240.

| Weekly hours | Weekly pay | Yearly pay | Auto-enrolled? | Qualifying band | 8% total | Employer 3% | Employee 5% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | £96 | £4,992 | No; pay is below the £120 a week line, so no employer share even if they join | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 |
| 12 | £144 | £7,488 | No; can ask to join | £1,248 | £99.84 | £37.44 | £62.40 |
| 16 | £192 | £9,984 | No; £16 short of the trigger | £3,744 | £299.52 | £112.32 | £187.20 |
| 17 | £204 | £10,608 | Yes | £4,368 | £349.44 | £131.04 | £218.40 |
| 20 | £240 | £12,480 | Yes | £6,240 | £499.20 | £187.20 | £312.00 |
| 30 | £360 | £18,720 | Yes | £12,480 | £998.40 | £374.40 | £624.00 |

Check on the 17-hour row: £204 x 52 = £10,608; £10,608 - £6,240 = £4,368; 8% of £4,368 = £349.44; 3% = £131.04; 5% = £218.40; and £131.04 + £218.40 = £349.44. One hour a week is the difference between a worker who must be enrolled and one who need not be, at this rate.

Two things to know about this table. It treats pay as a flat yearly sum; real staff have uneven weeks, and I did not read how the pay-period rules treat that. And the 12-hour worker earns over £120 a week, so if they ask to join, the page says the employer share is due.

## Where owners slip up

- **Looking only at the rota hours.** Tips paid through payroll, overtime and statutory sick pay can count towards earnings. How tips are treated is in our guide to [national insurance on tips and service charge](https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/national-insurance-on-tips-service-charge-tronc/).
- **Missing the 22nd birthday.** A bar worker who starts at 21 can cross the age line during the year; add the date to the staff record.
- **Casuals.** A casual who works enough weeks can cross the earnings line. The contract side is in the guide to [zero-hours bar staff](https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/zero-hours-bar-staff-guaranteed-hours-12-week-record-pub-restaurant/).
- **Leaving it out of the labour cost.** Add the 3% to your wage bill; the [rota cost calculator](https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/rota-cost-calculator-hospitality-employer-ni/) is the place to do it.
- **Forgetting it at hire.** Put it on the [new starter checklist](https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/new-starter-checklist-restaurant-pub-staff/).

## What I did not read

The GOV.UK pages do not name the current tax year for the £10,000 and £6,240 to £50,270 figures, so confirm they are still current before you rely on them. I did not read The Pensions Regulator's guidance, the Pensions Act 2008, the duties to re-enrol every three years, pay reference periods, how to choose a scheme or the fines for non-compliance.

Overlyft ![](https://aeolookup.com/img/d/ours-badge.png) builds AI staff who join your pub or restaurant team and take the job of watching the payroll for the age and earnings lines: they flag a worker who has just crossed one, draft the written notice and the enrolment record, and a person approves each step.

This is general information, not legal or financial advice. Check the GOV.UK pages and your payroll provider or pension scheme.

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Overlyft: https://overlyft.com/

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