National Minimum Wage

The National Minimum Wage (NMW) is the legal hourly wage floor for almost all UK workers — including casual, part-time, agency and zero-hours staff. The National Living Wage (NLW) is the top band of the same system, payable to workers above an age threshold. Paying below the floor is unlawful, however the contract is worded.

How the rates are set

Rates are not fixed in the Act itself. The Low Pay Commission recommends new figures each year, and the government sets them, normally taking effect each April. There are separate bands by age, plus an apprentice rate. Because the numbers move every year, always take the current figures from GOV.UK rather than a remembered amount.

What it means for rotas and pay

The floor is checked as an average over each pay reference period, which is where shift teams most often slip:

Unpaid working time — setup before opening, handovers, locking up, trial shifts — counts as work and dilutes the hourly average.
Deductions for uniforms or tools can pull pay below the floor.
HMRC enforces the rules and can order arrears plus penalties, so accurate records of hours actually worked matter.

National Minimum Wage Act 1998 and National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015 — rates recommended by the Low Pay Commission, set by the government and updated each April; enforced by HMRC. Current rates on GOV.UK.

Tommy records rostered and clocked hours side by side, so when you check pay against the wage floor you are working from the hours people actually worked.

Related terms

Put a number on it: the free true shift cost calculator shows what a shift really costs once every premium and on-cost is applied.