Hiring Christmas packers for an online shop: what the minimum wage rates cost for three temps over eight weeks

A shop that does a third of its year in November and December usually needs more hands for packing. The first money question is what a temp must be paid, and it depends on their age.

What GOV.UK says

The GOV.UK page on minimum wage rates lists the rates for April 2026 in its "Current rates" table. The page says the rates change on 1 April every year.

The separate GOV.UK holiday page says almost all workers, agency, irregular-hours and part-year workers included, are entitled to up to 5.6 weeks of paid holiday a year, and that for irregular-hours and part-year workers it builds up from the hours already worked. So a temp who works eight weeks does not stand outside holiday pay.

The sum, worked for three temps

The plan: three packers, eight weeks, 30 hours a week each. That is 3 x 8 x 30 = 720 hours.

This is our arithmetic from the rates in the GOV.UK table. It covers pay at the minimum only. It leaves out holiday pay, employer National Insurance, a pension, and any rise in rate when a temp turns 21 during the job, since I did not read those pages. The honest total is higher than the table.

A shop owner often assumes one rate fits the whole team. It does not: the same shift of 30 hours costs £381.30 for a 21-year-old and £325.50 for a 19-year-old, a gap of £55.80 a week (30 x £1.86).

Before you advertise the job

• Check each person's age band on their first day, and note the date they turn 21 if it falls in the eight weeks.
• Count the real hours, including a pack-down or stock count at the end of a shift.
• Look at whether the first employee changes your cost. See Employment Allowance for a first employee.
• Plan the peak first. Hours needed depend on orders and returns: see the Black Friday and Christmas checklist and the admin scorecard for an online shop.

What I did not read

I did not read the pages on how the minimum wage is calculated for piece work or unpaid breaks, on deductions, on employer National Insurance, on holiday pay on leaving, or on agency workers' rights. The GOV.UK holiday page I read does not give a fixed accrual percentage, so I have not used one. I have not checked whether the rates change before your temps start.

Overlyft builds AI staff who join your shop team and keep a running sheet of temp hours, ages and rates, work out the week's wages from the figures above, and pass the totals to the person who runs your payroll to approve.

This is general information, not legal or financial advice. Check the GOV.UK pages and your own position with a qualified adviser.