UK statutory rates for employers

Check the effective date before using a rate

The tax year is a useful label, but it is not the date test. The minimum-wage bands changed on 1 April 2026. Statutory Maternity Pay changed on 5 April. Most other figures on this page changed on 6 April. If a pay period, absence or dismissal crosses one of those dates, establish which rule applies before reaching for a number.

The tables above cover the figures a small employer is most likely to need. They do not replace the eligibility test or the calculation. Start with the event, person and date, then use the relevant payroll software or official calculator.

Match minimum wage to the worker and pay period

Minimum wage is not simply a salary divided by 52. Choose the band from the worker's age and apprentice status, then apply it to the correct pay-reference period and working time. HMRC explains when a worker moves into a higher band.

The apprentice rate applies to apprentices under 19 and to those aged 19 or over who are in the first year of their apprenticeship. Other apprentices use the rate for their age. The current GOV.UK bands also set the only accommodation amount that can count towards minimum-wage pay.

Check deductions, unpaid time, salary sacrifice and any work outside the obvious shift. A monthly salary that looks comfortably above the annualised minimum can still fail in a long month or where the working-time record is incomplete.

Calculate sick and family pay from earnings

Statutory Sick Pay and statutory family payments use different eligibility and payment rules. Do not treat the weekly figure as a flat entitlement for everyone.

For sickness beginning under the 2026 rules, SSP is payable from the first full qualifying day and the weekly amount is the lower of the flat limit and the prescribed percentage of average weekly earnings. Use the current SSP route for eligibility, linked periods, notice and the daily calculation.

Most statutory family payments use the lower of the standard weekly limit and 90% of average weekly earnings. Statutory Maternity Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay use 90% without the weekly ceiling for their first six weeks. Eligibility, relevant earnings periods and payment duration still differ by scheme.

Employers can normally recover part of statutory family payments from HMRC, with a higher percentage available to eligible small employers. HMRC explains the recovery test. SSP is not recovered through that route.

Check the employee's National Insurance category

The headline employer National Insurance percentage is the standard Category A rate above the secondary threshold. It is not the answer for every employee. Category letters can change the rate for some younger employees, apprentices, veterans and people working in designated investment zones or freeports.

Give payroll the employee's correct category and the pay-period earnings. Check whether the organisation can claim Employment Allowance, but do not subtract the whole allowance from one employee's estimated cost. It belongs to the employer's National Insurance account, not the individual employment record.

Use the current category-letter table when the employee may qualify for a different rate. Keep the category, calculation and any relief evidence with the payroll record.

Check pension eligibility and the scheme basis

The automatic-enrolment earnings trigger decides who normally needs to be enrolled. The qualifying-earnings band is then commonly used to calculate contributions. Those are related tests, not the same number.

The usual statutory minimum is 3% from the employer within an 8% total contribution on qualifying earnings. A scheme can use a different certified basis or provide more. Age, earnings and existing scheme membership also affect what the employer must do.

Check the current earnings thresholds, the scheme rules and the payroll setup together. Record postponement, enrolment, opt-out and re-enrolment events rather than inferring them from a contribution line alone.

Use the redundancy cap for the worker's nation

Statutory redundancy pay depends on age, complete years of service and a capped week's pay. The weekly cap and maximum total are different in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, so the workplace and applicable employment law matter before the calculation begins.

For Great Britain, use the GOV.UK redundancy route. For Northern Ireland, use the separate nidirect calculation guidance. In either case, compare the statutory result with the contract or redundancy policy because an employer can provide an enhanced payment.

Statutory notice and holiday entitlement are standing rules rather than annual cash rates. Use the notice period calculator for statutory notice and the annual-leave guide for holiday entitlement.