Minimum wage for 16 and 17 year olds

A 16 or 17 year old who has reached school leaving age must be paid at least £8.00 an hour from 1 April 2026. That is the same figure as the apprentice rate. It went up 45p, or 6.0 per cent, in April. A full-time week of 37.5 hours at £8.00 is £300, or £15,600 over 52 weeks, though most under-18s in England are also in education or training.

Who gets the £8.00 rate

The National Minimum Wage starts at school leaving age, so younger children working part time are outside it. Where that age falls depends on the nation:

• England: you can leave on the last Friday in June if you turn 16 by the end of the summer holidays.
• Wales: the same last-Friday-in-June rule.
• Scotland: if your birthday is between 1 March and 30 September you can leave after 31 May of that year, otherwise at the start of the Christmas holidays in that school year.
• Northern Ireland: you can leave after 30 June if you turn 16 between 1 September and 1 July.

The £8.00 rate covers every worker above that age and under 18. At 18 the rate moves to the 18 to 20 rate of £10.85. National Living Wage and minimum wage rates 2026 has all the legal rates in one table.

Education or training until 18 in England

In England, 16 and 17 year olds must stay in some form of education or training until they are 18. That can be full-time education such as college, an apprenticeship, or at least 20 hours a week of work or volunteering combined with part-time education or training. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own rules, so check the nation you live in.

This matters for pay because many young people in England work part time. Twenty hours a week at £8.00 comes to £8,320 over 52 weeks, which is under the £12,570 personal allowance. At that level you pay no income tax and no National Insurance, though your employer may still run you through payroll once you are 16.

Hours limits for under-18s

Under-18s cannot work more than 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week. Adults are limited to an average of 48 hours a week, though they can opt out of that limit. Full-time work is only allowed once you reach school leaving age. ACAS can advise if your rota breaks the limit.

You are also entitled to paid holiday as a worker. Almost all workers get 5.6 weeks a year, which is 28 days for someone on a five-day week, and employers can count bank holidays towards it. Part-time workers get the same 5.6 weeks, which works out to fewer days. Holiday entitlement in the UK has the detail.

Apprenticeships at 16 and 17

Apprentices must be at least 16. If you are under 19 the apprentice rate of £8.00 applies, which is the same figure as the under-18 rate. The apprenticeship must give you paid time to train, at least 20 per cent of your normal working hours, and at least 20 days of paid holiday a year plus bank holidays.

Public sector employers often pay apprentices more than the legal rate, so the salary on the advert is the figure to compare. The public sector apprenticeships guide covers NHS, council and Civil Service schemes, and the apprentice minimum wage page shows how the rate changes as you get older.

Public sector work at this age

Apprenticeships are the usual way into public sector employment at this age, and public sector jobs for school leavers lists the other routes. Check the minimum age in each advert. If a job is offered at £8.00 an hour, the employer is paying the legal minimum, and anything below it is underpayment you can raise with ACAS or the HMRC Pay and Work Rights Helpline.

Use the take-home pay calculator to see what a given number of weekly hours leaves after deductions.