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Work & pay · UK guide · 2026/27

Underpaid? The law collects for you — free, and anonymously if you want.

Last verified 11 Jun 2026 · Source GOV.UK / Low Pay Commission April 2026 + ACAS

From 1 April 2026 the minimum wage is £12.71 an hour at 21+, £10.85 at 18–20 and £8.00 for under-18s and first-year apprentices. Hundreds of thousands of British workers are quietly paid less — usually through hidden traps like uniform deductions, unpaid travel time and the misused apprentice rate. The fix costs nothing: a free complaint makes the employer repay every penny at today's rates, face penalties, and risk being named publicly. Here's the 5-minute payslip check and every route.

£12.71/hrMinimum at 21+ from 1 April 2026
£10.85/hrAt 18–20 (an 8.5% rise this year)
£8.00/hr16–17s and first-year apprentices
£0Cost to complain — anonymously if you want
The 5-minute payslip check → All your rights at work

The 5-minute payslip check

AgeMinimum hourly rate from 1 April 2026
21 and over (National Living Wage)£12.71
18 – 20£10.85
16 – 17£8.00
Apprentices (under 19, or in year one)£8.00 — after that, your age rate

The check: take one pay period's total pay, divide by the hours you actually worked — including travel between appointments, handovers, security checks, opening up, and required training. Below your age rate? You're owed money. GOV.UK's free minimum wage calculator does the maths for complex cases.

The five hidden traps (1) Uniform & kit costs — if buying required uniform or tools drags that period's pay below the minimum, that's underpayment. (2) Unpaid "trial shifts" and training that are really work. (3) Unpaid travel time between jobs — care workers between visits especially. (4) The apprentice-rate trap — kept on £8.00 after year one or past 19. (5) Tips plugging the gap — they can't count towards minimum wage, and since October 2024 the law requires 100% of tips to reach workers under a written policy.

Getting it back — three free routes

  1. One email to payroll. A surprising share of underpayment is genuine error. Put it in writing with your numbers; arrears must be made good — at the current rate, not the rate at the time, so historic underpayment grows until it's fixed.
  2. Complain to the enforcement body — free and anonymous. Since April 2026 minimum-wage enforcement sits with the new Fair Work Agency (absorbing HMRC's enforcement teams, alongside holiday pay and SSP). Use the GOV.UK pay-and-work-rights complaint route; investigators can audit the whole workforce, force full repayment at today's rates, issue financial penalties, and publicly name the employer. Your name need never surface.
  3. The tribunal route — an unlawful-deduction-of-wages claim, free, started within 3 months less a day of the last underpayment (a series of deductions can be claimed with a 2-year backstop), after free ACAS early conciliation. Older money? A county-court contract claim reaches back 6 years.
You are protected Dismissing or punishing a worker for asserting minimum-wage rights is unlawful — and itself a tribunal claim. Complaints can be anonymous, and ACAS (0300 123 1100) will talk anything through free before you decide.
Do this now

Run the payslip check tonight — total pay ÷ real hours, against the table above. Borderline or messy? The GOV.UK minimum wage calculator handles deductions and travel time.

Underpaid? Email payroll first; no fix within a pay cycle, complain on GOV.UK — it costs nothing, and the arrears come back at 2026 rates.

Also check Low pay usually means unclaimed support: Universal Credit tops up low earnings, and uniform and tool costs may earn a tax refund. Two minutes on the benefits check often finds more than the back pay.
Related guides Employment rights · Zero-hours contracts · Tax refunds & uniform relief · Universal Credit · Statutory Sick Pay · Apprenticeships — earn while you learn · Jury service & pay
Source verification Primary source: GOV.UK National Minimum Wage rates + Low Pay Commission 2026 uprating report + ACAS · gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates. Last verified 11 June 2026. Confidence: High — published April 2026 rates. Key facts: £12.71 (21+) / £10.85 (18–20) / £8.00 (16–17 + first-year apprentices) from 1 Apr 2026 · arrears repaid at current rates · Fair Work Agency enforcement from Apr 2026 · tribunal 3-months-less-a-day + 2-yr backstop · tips law Oct 2024. Scope: UK-wide.

Underpaid wages — common questions

What's the minimum wage right now?

From 1 April 2026: £12.71 at 21+, £10.85 at 18–20, £8.00 for 16–17s and apprentices (under 19 or first year only — then your age rate applies).

How do I complain about being underpaid?

Email payroll first. No fix? Complain free — and anonymously if you want — via GOV.UK; the Fair Work Agency (which took over enforcement in April 2026) can force full repayment at today's rates, fine the employer and name them publicly.

What sneaky things count as underpayment?

Uniform/tool costs dragging pay below the rate, unpaid trial shifts and training, unpaid travel between appointments, the apprentice rate kept too long, and tips used to plug the gap (illegal — tips must be passed on 100% since Oct 2024).

How far back can I claim?

Enforcement recovers identified arrears in full, repaid at current rates. Tribunal: a series of deductions with a 2-year backstop, started within 3 months less a day of the last one. County court contract claims: 6 years.

Will my employer find out it was me?

Not necessarily — government complaints can be anonymous, and investigators audit the whole payroll. And punishing you for asserting the right is itself unlawful. ACAS: 0300 123 1100, free.

One payslip. One division. Possibly months of back pay. Total pay ÷ real hours worked, against your age rate. Free advice: ACAS on 0300 123 1100.
Check the rates (GOV.UK) →

Sources: April 2026 rates (£12.71 / £10.85 / £8.00) · GOV.UK National Minimum Wage rates + Low Pay Commission 2026 uprating report. Arrears repaid at current rates + penalties + public naming · GOV.UK NMW enforcement policy (enforcement transferred to the Fair Work Agency from April 2026). Tribunal route (unlawful deductions, 3 months less a day, 2-year backstop) · ACAS / Employment Rights Act 1996. Tips · Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 (in force Oct 2024). Free advice · ACAS 0300 123 1100 · Citizens Advice. SortedUK is not a law firm and this is general information, not legal advice. Last reviewed: 11 June 2026.

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