Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

National minimum wage definition

What does National minimum wage mean? The statutory minimum hourly pay that an employer must pay eligible staff. In practice, it is the baseline pay floor used in drafting contracts, payroll compliance and employment due diligence. United Kingdom (England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland): Defined in the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 and the National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015, with rates set by regulations following Low Pay Commission recommendations. Bands vary by age and apprenticeship; the highest band is the statutory National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over. It applies to most “workers” (including casual, part‑time and agency workers), but not the genuinely self‑employed,...

Statutory exemptions from paying the National Minimum Wage

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Q&As

For further information on this topic in general, see:

National minimum wage—Eligibility
Employment-related statutory rates and limits table
Minimum wage Compliance checklist
Deductions from wages

Some of the statutory exceptions to the right to receive the national minimum wage are outlined below. This response concentrates on the scenarios where the point most commonly arises.

Workers only

Only ‘workers’ are entitled to be paid the national minimum wage—see our Practice Note: Worker status—Definition of ‘worker’.

Agency workers who would otherwise fall outside the definition of a ‘worker’ because they have no contract with either the supplier or the recipient of their services are nevertheless entitled to the national minimum wage.

Home workers who might not otherwise be ‘workers’ owing to an absence of any personal obligation in the contract to carry out the work themselves are likewise entitled to be paid the national minimum wage.

The genuinely self-employed are not entitled to be paid the national minimum wage. See Checklist for assessing employment status and Minimum wage compliance checklist...

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Web page updated on 27/05/2026

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