The UK means England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Income tax thresholds in Scotland are different to those in Wales and England and Northern Ireland, however, national insurance contribution rates are the same in all countries.
Currently (April 2022 to March 2023 inclusive) the minimum pay in the UK is as follows
- Adult aged 23 and above £9.50
- Adult aged 21 to 22, £9.18
- People under 18, £4.81
- Apprentice under 19, £4.81
- Apprentice over 19 but in his or her first year, £4.81
If you want to work out what these are annually, just multiply it by the number of hours in the work week specified in the work contract. For example, if someone works 37.5 hours a week and works 52 weeks a year (including holidays - as paid holiday has a statutory minimum of 20 days, which with bank holidays is 28 days a year - the minimum salary is 52 x 37.5 x 9.50 = £18,575. This is the national living wage for an adult above 23. If you are paying your employee who is aged 23 and above, less than this, this is against the law.
What about the absolute minimum?
If you have a paperboy (assuming he or she is under 18) and you are paying him £5, as an employer, you must ensure that he or she is able complete the paper round within about an hour and 12 mins otherwise you are not paying enough to meet the National Minimum Wage, of £4.18 an hour. To calculate how much you need to pay for 1 hour 12 mins of work, you should do £4.18 x 1.2 = which is roughly £5.00.
