Pay and wages, explained

You have a right to be paid what your contract says, on time, and never less than the National Minimum Wage. From 1 April 2026, the National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over is £12.71 an hour. Your employer can only take money out of your pay if a law requires or allows it, your contract allows it, or you agreed in writing beforehand. If you are an employee or a worker, you are also entitled to a payslip on or before each payday.

If you are underpaid, not paid, or money is wrongly deducted, you can raise it with your employer and, if that fails, claim in an employment tribunal. For problems on or after 1 October 2026, the time limit for most tribunal claims, including unlawful deductions, rose from three months to six months less a day. This page covers Great Britain; Northern Ireland has its own employment law and minimum wage enforcement.

The National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage

These are the hourly rates from 1 April 2026, with the previous year’s rates for comparison:

Age or category	From 1 April 2026	1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026
21 and over (National Living Wage)	£12.71	£12.21
18 to 20	£10.85	£10.00
Under 18	£8.00	£7.55
Apprentice	£8.00	£7.55

The apprentice rate applies if you are under 19, or 19 or over and in the first year of your apprenticeship. Otherwise apprentices get the rate for their age.

Who is entitled

GOV.UK says workers must be at least school leaving age to get the National Minimum Wage, and 21 or over for the National Living Wage. It covers part-time, casual and agency workers and apprentices, and Acas confirms it covers people on zero-hours contracts. It does not cover, among others:

• self-employed people running their own business;
• company directors;
• volunteers and voluntary workers;
• members of the armed forces;
• family members of the employer living in the employer’s home;
• higher and further education students on a work placement of up to one year;
• prisoners.

If you have been told you are self-employed but work like staff, you may still be a worker. See employment status.

GOV.UK says it does not matter how small an employer is: it still has to pay the correct minimum wage.

If you are paid less than the minimum wage

GOV.UK suggests these steps:

1. Talk to your employer first, and ask in writing to see your pay records.
2. Call the Acas helpline for confidential advice.
3. Complain to HMRC. Since 7 April 2026, the new Fair Work Agency has been in place, and GOV.UK says HMRC enforces the minimum wage on its behalf. You can ask for your name not to be given to your employer.
4. Make a claim to an employment tribunal yourself.

GOV.UK says that if your employer owes you arrears, it has to pay them, and HMRC will pursue them if it refuses. Being dismissed because of a minimum wage dispute can be unfair dismissal.

Deductions from your pay

When a deduction is allowed

Section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 says an employer must not make a deduction from a worker’s wages unless:

• it is required or authorised by law, such as income tax, National Insurance or student loan repayments;
• it is authorised by a term of your contract; or
• you agreed in writing before the deduction was made.

Some deductions fall outside these rules under section 14. The main one is recovering an overpayment of wages or expenses. Others include deductions after taking part in a strike, and payments ordered by a court or tribunal.

If you are paid less than the amount properly due, section 13(3) treats the shortfall as a deduction. So wages that are not paid, or are paid short, can be claimed in the same way as a deduction.

Retail workers

GOV.UK says that if you work in retail, your employer cannot take more than 10% of your gross pay each pay period to cover cash shortages or stock losses. It gives the example of a £50 till shortage being recovered at £25 a week from gross pay of £250.

Deductions and the minimum wage

GOV.UK says a deduction cannot normally take your pay below the National Minimum Wage, even if you agree to it. The exceptions include tax, National Insurance, and specified items such as accommodation and pension contributions.

Payslips

GOV.UK says employees and workers are entitled to a payslip, with exceptions including contractors, freelancers, the police service, merchant seamen and share fishermen. It must:

• be given on or before payday;
• show your earnings before and after deductions;
• show the amounts of any deductions that change each time you are paid, such as tax and National Insurance;
• show the number of hours worked, if your pay varies with the time you work.

Fixed deductions can instead be set out in a separate written statement given before your first payslip and updated each year. Payslips can be paper or electronic.

Holiday pay: the basics

Almost all workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday a year, which is 28 days for someone working five days a week. Statutory paid holiday is capped at 28 days, and your employer can count bank holidays towards it. People with irregular hours or who work part of the year build up leave based on the hours they have worked. Our holiday entitlement guide explains how holiday pay is calculated.

Sick pay has its own rules, covered in our sick pay guide.

How to claim unpaid wages

1. Check the figures. Compare your payslips with your contract, rota and timesheets.
2. Raise it informally, in writing, and keep a copy.
3. Raise a grievance if that does not work. See grievances and disciplinaries.
4. Notify Acas for early conciliation. This is required before most tribunal claims and pauses the time limit.
5. Claim in an employment tribunal for unlawful deduction from wages. See employment tribunal.

Time limits

Under section 23, a claim must be brought within six months starting with the date of the payment the deduction was made from. If there was a series of deductions, time runs from the last one. The six-month limit applies where that date is on or after 1 October 2026; for earlier deductions, the old three-month limit usually still applies. Acas explains how to count it: add six calendar months and take off one day.

There is also a two-year backstop: section 23(4A) stops a tribunal looking at deductions from wages paid more than two years before you claim. If you have been underpaid for a long time, waiting can mean losing part of what you are owed.

If you win, and your employer had not given you a proper written statement of your terms, GOV.UK says the tribunal can also award up to 4 weeks’ pay for that failure.

Unpaid wages can sometimes also be pursued as a breach of contract in the civil courts, where the time limits are longer: generally six years in England and Wales and five years in Scotland. If your employer is insolvent, you can apply to the government for unpaid wages, holiday pay and other sums.

What to check in your contract or letter

• Your rate of pay, and whether it is hourly, weekly, monthly or annual.
• Your pay date and pay period.
• Overtime, bonus and commission terms, and whether bonus is contractual or discretionary.
• A deductions clause, and exactly what it allows your employer to deduct.
• Any written agreement to deductions you have signed, and its date.
• Repayment clauses for training costs, uniforms, equipment or advances.
• Clauses on recovering overpayments.
• Holiday pay terms and how your employer calculates it.
• Contractual sick pay, and any conditions.
• Your job title and status, which decide whether minimum wage and deduction rules apply to you.
• Your payslips, checked against the hours you actually worked.

When to speak to a solicitor

Many pay problems are fixed by a clear letter or an Acas call. It can help to speak to a solicitor if your employer disputes your status, the sums are large or go back a long way, deductions are linked to a dismissal or disciplinary, or you are being offered a settlement in return for giving up other claims.

Common questions

What is the minimum wage in 2026?

From 1 April 2026 the National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over is £12.71 an hour. The National Minimum Wage is £10.85 for workers aged 18 to 20, and £8 for under-18s and for apprentices who are under 19 or in the first year of their apprenticeship. Before 1 April 2026 the adult rate was £12.21.

Can my employer take money from my wages?

Only if a law requires or allows it, such as tax and National Insurance, if a term of your contract allows it, or if you agreed in writing before the deduction was made. Overpayments of wages or expenses can also be recovered. In retail jobs, deductions for cash shortages or stock losses are limited to 10% of gross pay each pay day.

My employer has not paid me. What can I do?

Raise it with your employer in writing and keep copies of your payslips, rota and contract. If that does not work, you can raise a formal grievance. You can make a tribunal claim for unlawful deduction from wages, after notifying Acas for early conciliation. For minimum wage underpayment, you can also complain to the Fair Work Agency, whose minimum wage enforcement is carried out by HMRC.

What is the time limit for an unpaid wages claim?

For deductions or non-payments on or after 1 October 2026, you have six months less a day from the date of the payment, or the last in a series, to start the process by contacting Acas. For earlier deductions the three-month limit usually applies. A tribunal usually cannot go back more than two years before the date you claim.

Do I have a right to a payslip?

Yes, if you are an employee or a worker. Your payslip must be given on or before payday and show your pay before and after deductions, the amounts of any deductions that vary, and the hours worked if your pay varies with the time you work. It can be on paper or electronic. Contractors and freelancers are not covered.

Can a deduction take my pay below the minimum wage?

Usually not. GOV.UK says a deduction cannot normally reduce your pay below the National Minimum Wage, even if you agree to it. There are exceptions, such as tax and National Insurance, and some specified items such as accommodation and pension contributions.

Sources

1. GOV.UK: National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates checked Fri Oct 02
2. GOV.UK: National Minimum Wage: who gets the minimum wage checked Fri Oct 02
3. Acas: Zero-hours contracts checked Fri Oct 02
4. GOV.UK: National Minimum Wage: worker disputes over minimum wage checked Fri Oct 02
5. GOV.UK: Complain about pay and work rights (updated 7 April 2026) checked Fri Oct 02
6. GOV.UK: Plan to Make Work Pay and Employment Rights Act, timeline update (Fair Work Agency established 7 April 2026) checked Fri Oct 02
7. GOV.UK: Understanding your pay: deductions from your pay checked Fri Oct 02
8. Employment Rights Act 1996, section 13 (right not to suffer unauthorised deductions) checked Fri Oct 02
9. Employment Rights Act 1996, section 14 (excepted deductions) checked Fri Oct 02
10. Employment Rights Act 1996, section 23 (complaints to tribunals: six months, two-year backstop) checked Fri Oct 02
11. SI 2026/954: tribunal time limits extended to six months for relevant dates on or after 1 October 2026 checked Fri Oct 02
12. Acas: Employment tribunal time limits (updated 1 October 2026) checked Fri Oct 02
13. GOV.UK: Payslips checked Fri Oct 02
14. GOV.UK: Holiday entitlement checked Fri Oct 02
15. GOV.UK: Problems with a written statement checked Fri Oct 02
16. Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, section 6 and Schedule 1 checked Fri Oct 02
17. Limitation Act 1980, section 5 checked Fri Oct 02
18. GOV.UK: Your rights if your employer is insolvent checked Fri Oct 02

This guide is general information about employment law in Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland). Northern Ireland has its own employment law. It isn't legal advice and doesn't take your circumstances into account.