Minimum wage in Scotland

Scotland has no minimum wage of its own. The minimum wage is reserved to the UK Government, so the rates that apply in Scotland from 1 April 2026 are the UK ones: £12.71 an hour at 21 and over, £10.85 at 18 to 20, and £8.00 for under-18s and apprentices in their first year. What Scotland does differently is what sits on top of that: a policy of paying the real Living Wage in the public sector, separate NHS pay scales and a different income tax.

The legal rates apply in full

The legal rates apply to every worker above school leaving age. The National Living Wage guide has the full table, and the guide for 18 to 20 year olds covers the lower rate. Scotland’s school leaving age rule differs from England’s: if you turn 16 between 1 March and 30 September you can leave after 31 May that year, and otherwise at the start of the Christmas holidays.

The real Living Wage in Scottish public bodies

The real Living Wage is voluntary and higher: £14.10 an hour across the UK for 2026 to 2027, announced on 15 October 2026. Accredited employers have until 1 May 2027 to bring it in. The real Living Wage guide explains the difference from the legal rate.

In Scotland the Scottish Government turns it into a requirement for some employers. The 2025 to 2026 public sector pay policy said public bodies were required to pay at least the real Living Wage, which it put at £12.60 an hour at that time. The Scottish Government has published an integrated public sector pay and workforce policy for 2026 to 2027, dated 13 January 2026. Its wording is not reproduced here, so ask your employer or union which rate applies to you.

Fair Work First is a separate rule for grants. Employers who receive discretionary public sector grants awarded on or after 1 July 2023 must pay the real Living Wage, and the condition covers staff aged 16 and over, including apprentices. It does not apply to public procurement in the same way, though the Scottish Government says its own suppliers must pay the real Living Wage to staff working on the contract.

NHS Scotland and the Living Wage

NHS Scotland says it is a Living Wage employer. Its pay circular says that if the lowest hourly rate on 1 April 2026 was below the real Living Wage, it would be adjusted. The lowest NHS Scotland salary is band 1 at £26,519 from April 2026, about £13.56 an hour on a 37.5-hour week. Band 2 runs from £26,658 to £28,947. In England band 2 is £25,272. The NHS Scotland pay bands guide has every band.

Tax on minimum wage pay in Scotland

If you live in Scotland you pay Scottish income tax. For a full-time worker on £12.71 at 37.5 hours, gross pay is £24,784.50 over 52 weeks. After the £12,570 personal allowance, £3,967 is taxed at the 19 per cent starter rate and the rest at 20 per cent. That comes to about £2,403 in Scotland against about £2,443 elsewhere in the UK, so the Scottish worker pays roughly £40 less. National Insurance is a UK tax and is the same: 8 per cent of the same £12,214.50, or £977. The take-home pay on the National Living Wage guide has the English workings, and the take-home pay calculator handles Scottish rates.

Moving between Scotland and the rest of the UK can change which rates apply. Moving to or from Scotland explains how HMRC decides.

Where to go if you are underpaid

Underpayment of the legal minimum is a UK-wide matter. ACAS gives free advice and the HMRC Pay and Work Rights Helpline takes calls from workers in Scotland. For a public sector job, your union or the HR team can also say which pay policy applies. Public sector jobs in Scotland covers how the main employers work.