Every statutory rate a UK employer needs this year — minimum wage, sick pay, family pay, National Insurance, redundancy, holiday and notice — with the date it applies from, the rate it replaced and the GOV.UK source.
Last checked against GOV.UK: 2 October 2026
Hourly minimums by age. The apprentice rate applies to apprentices under 19, and to apprentices aged 19 or over in the first year of their apprenticeship.
| Item | Rate | Applies from | Before |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 21 and over (National Living Wage) | £12.71 | 1 April 2026 | £12.21 |
| Aged 18 to 20 | £10.85 | 1 April 2026 | £10.00 |
| Under 18 | £8.00 | 1 April 2026 | £7.55 |
| Apprentice | £8.00 | 1 April 2026 | £7.55 |
| Accommodation offset (most you can count for accommodation) | £11.10 a day, £77.70 a week | 1 April 2026 | £10.66 a day, £74.62 a week |
From 6 April 2026 SSP is paid from the first full day off sick, with no lower earnings limit, at the flat rate or 80% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.
| Item | Rate | Applies from | Before |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly rate | £123.25 or 80% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower | 6 April 2026 | £118.75 flat rate |
| Waiting days | None: paid from the first full day of sickness | 6 April 2026 | 3 unpaid waiting days |
| Earnings needed to qualify | None | 6 April 2026 | At least £125 a week |
| Most SSP in one spell | 28 weeks | Unchanged | 28 weeks |
The first 6 weeks of maternity and adoption pay are 90% of average weekly earnings. After that, and for the other payments below, it is the flat rate or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.
| Item | Rate | Applies from | Before |
|---|---|---|---|
| Statutory Maternity Pay (weeks 7–39) | £194.32 or 90%, whichever is lower | April 2026 | £187.18 |
| Statutory Paternity Pay | £194.32 or 90%, whichever is lower | April 2026 | £187.18 |
| Statutory Adoption Pay (weeks 7–39) | £194.32 or 90%, whichever is lower | April 2026 | £187.18 |
| Statutory Shared Parental Pay | £194.32 or 90%, whichever is lower | April 2026 | £187.18 |
| Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay | £194.32 or 90%, whichever is lower | April 2026 | £187.18 |
| Statutory Neonatal Care Pay | £194.32 or 90%, whichever is lower | April 2026 | £187.18 |
| Lower earnings limit to qualify | £129 a week | 6 April 2026 | £125 a week |
Employers can reclaim most statutory maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental, bereavement and neonatal care pay. SSP cannot be reclaimed.
| Item | Rate | Applies from | Before |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Employers' Relief (£45,000 or less Class 1 NI in the last complete tax year) | 109% | Current | — |
| All other employers | 92% | Current | — |
Category A, most employees. The rates and thresholds are the same as 2025/26; only the lower earnings limit rose. Employers pay 0% up to the upper secondary threshold for employees under 21 and apprentices under 25.
| Item | Rate | Applies from | Before |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employee rate, primary threshold to upper earnings limit | 8% | 6 April 2026 | 8% |
| Employee rate above the upper earnings limit | 2% | 6 April 2026 | 2% |
| Employer rate above the secondary threshold | 15% | 6 April 2026 | 15% |
| Primary threshold (employee NI starts) | £12,570 a year | 6 April 2026 | £12,570 a year |
| Secondary threshold (employer NI starts) | £5,000 a year | 6 April 2026 | £5,000 a year |
| Upper earnings limit | £50,270 a year | 6 April 2026 | £50,270 a year |
| Lower earnings limit | £6,708 a year (£129 a week) | 6 April 2026 | £6,500 a year (£125 a week) |
| Employment Allowance | Up to £10,500 a year | 6 April 2026 | Up to £10,500 a year |
Employees need 2 years' continuous service. They get half a week's pay for each full year under 22, one week's pay for each full year aged 22 to 40, and one and a half weeks' pay for each full year aged 41 or over, counting at most 20 years.
| Item | Rate | Applies from | Before |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly pay cap | £751 | Redundancies on or after 6 April 2026 | £719 |
| Most statutory redundancy pay (30 weeks × cap) | £22,530 | Redundancies on or after 6 April 2026 | £21,570 |
Almost all workers get 5.6 weeks' paid holiday a year. Employers can count bank holidays towards it. Part-time workers on regular hours get 5.6 times the days they work in a week.
| Item | Rate | Applies from | Before |
|---|---|---|---|
| Statutory minimum | 5.6 weeks a year | Unchanged | 5.6 weeks a year |
| Five-day week | 28 days (the cap, even for six-day weeks) | Unchanged | 28 days |
| Irregular-hours and part-year workers | 12.07% of hours worked in each pay period | Leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024 | Leave year method |
The legal minimum once someone has worked for you for a month. A contract can give longer notice, never shorter.
| Item | Rate | Applies from | Before |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employer: 1 month to under 2 years' service | 1 week | Unchanged | 1 week |
| Employer: 2 to 12 years' service | 1 week for each full year | Unchanged | 1 week for each full year |
| Employer: 12 years' service or more | 12 weeks | Unchanged | 12 weeks |
| Employee, after 1 month's service | 1 week | Unchanged | 1 week |
Minimum wage checks, sick pay and holiday pay all start from what someone actually worked and when they were off. TimeTally records clock-ins, timesheets, leave and sickness for your team, then exports approved hours to Xero, QuickBooks or CSV for payroll.
National Living Wage £12.71 an hour (21 and over); Statutory Sick Pay £123.25 a week or 80% of earnings if lower; statutory maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental, bereavement and neonatal care pay £194.32 a week or 90% of earnings if lower; redundancy pay capped at £751 a week (£22,530 at most); National Insurance unchanged at 8% and 2% for employees and 15% for employers.
Minimum wage rates change on 1 April. National Insurance and Statutory Sick Pay follow the tax year, which starts on 6 April. Statutory family pay changes in early April, and the redundancy pay cap applies to redundancies on or after 6 April. The new figures are usually announced the previous autumn.
No. For sickness from 6 April 2026, SSP is paid from the first full day off sick, there is no lower earnings limit, and the weekly amount is £123.25 or 80% of the employee's average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.
£129 a week (£6,708 a year), up from £125. Employees need average earnings of at least this much to get statutory maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental or bereavement pay. It no longer applies to Statutory Sick Pay.
No. Employees pay 8% between £12,570 and £50,270 and 2% above that; employers pay 15% above £5,000; the Employment Allowance stays at up to £10,500. Only the lower earnings limit rose, to £6,708 a year.
109% of statutory maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental, bereavement and neonatal care pay if you paid £45,000 or less in Class 1 National Insurance in the last complete tax year (Small Employers' Relief); otherwise 92%. Statutory Sick Pay cannot be reclaimed.
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Last checked against GOV.UK: 2 October 2026
England, Scotland and Wales unless stated. Northern Ireland sets its own redundancy pay cap. A guide, not legal or tax advice.
