Minimum wage Scotland 2026: rates, take home pay and the 2027 rise
£12.71 an hour sounds clear. A payslip is not. I have done the tax and working for a 37.5 hour week so you can see what reaches the bank.
By Graeme · Published 1 August 2026 · 6 min read
Last updated · Figures checked
Quick answer · Minimum wage Scotland, 21 and over
£12.71an hour
Every employer in Scotland has to pay at least this from 1 April 2026. It goes up to £13.21 on 1 April 2027. Scotland doesn't set its own rate; Westminster does.
- Age 21 and over
- £12.71, then £13.21
- Age 18 to 20
- £10.85, then £11.27
- Under 18
- £8.00, then £8.31
- Apprentice
- £8.00, then £8.31
2026/27 rates, then the rates from 1 April 2027Source GOV.UK
On this page
The minimum wage in Scotland is £12.71 an hour from 1 April 2026 for workers aged 21 and over, and it rises to £13.21 on 1 April 2027. Scotland does not set a separate minimum wage, so the UK rates apply, but Scottish income tax bands change what you take home.
Minimum wage Scotland 2026: every rate
Your rate depends on your age and whether you are an apprentice. These are the lowest hourly amounts any employer in Scotland can legally pay, before tax.
National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage
Minimum wage rates in Scotland
| Who | From 1 April 2026 | From 1 April 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| 21 and over | £12.71 | £13.21 |
| 18 to 20 | £10.85 | £11.27 |
| 16 and 17 | £8.00 | £8.31 |
| Apprentice | £8.00 | £8.31 |
The apprentice rate applies when someone is under 19, or is 19 or over and still in the first year of the apprenticeship. After that, an apprentice aged 19 or over is due the minimum for their age.
Minimum wage Scotland by age, from 16 to over 25
- Age 16 and 17: £8.00 an hour. You have to be past school leaving age to get the minimum wage.
- Age 18, 19 and 20: £10.85 an hour, rising to £11.27 in April 2027.
- Age 21 and over: £12.71 an hour. This top rate is the one officially called the National Living Wage.
- Over 25: there is no separate rate any more. Everyone aged 21 or over is due the same £12.71.
The UK Government has said it wants to remove the lower adult rate, so that workers aged 18 to 20 get the same as everyone over 21. It has left the pace of that change to the Low Pay Commission, so for now the 18 to 20 rate is still lower.
National minimum wage Scotland and the National Living Wage
The National Minimum Wage and the National Living Wage are the same law. National Living Wage is just the name for the rate paid to workers aged 21 and over. The UK Government sets every rate for the whole UK each year, after advice from the Low Pay Commission.
The adult rate is pegged to two thirds of typical hourly earnings across the UK. The Scottish Parliament cannot set a higher minimum wage, because employment law is to Westminster.
The is something else: a voluntary rate of £14.10 an hour worked out from living costs. See real Living Wage Scotland for how the two compare.
What changes in April 2027
The UK Government has published the rates that apply from 1 April 2027:
- Age 21 and over: £13.21 an hour, up 50p.
- Age 18 to 20: £11.27 an hour.
- Under 18: £8.31 an hour.
- Apprentices covered by the apprentice rate: £8.31 an hour.
On the same 37.5 hour week, £13.21 an hour is £25,759.50 a year before tax, £975 more than at the 2026 rate. What reaches the bank in 2027/28 also depends on the Scottish income tax bands, which the Scottish Government sets in its Budget. The full detail is on the minimum wage 2027 page.
Age 21 and over
How the adult minimum wage has risen
| From | Hourly rate | Rise | Full time year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 April 2024 | £11.44 | £22,308 | |
| 1 April 2025 | £12.21 | 77p | £23,810 |
| 1 April 2026 | £12.71 | 50p | £24,785 |
| 1 April 2027 | £13.21 | 50p | £25,760 |
Minimum wage Scotland yearly: full time and part time pay
There is no official “minimum wage salary” because the law sets an hourly rate. To make it useful, I use 37.5 paid hours a week for all 52 weeks.
£24,784.50
pay before tax for a full year at £12.71 × 37.5 hours × 52 weeks
That is £476.63 a week or £2,065.38 a month before tax, on average.
Many people on the minimum wage work part time. This table runs each week through the same tax engine as the site's calculator.
At £12.71 an hour, 2026/27
Minimum wage pay in Scotland by hours worked
| Hours a week | A week | A year before tax | A year after tax | A month after tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 hours | £203.36 | £10,575 | £10,575 | £881 |
| 20 hours | £254.20 | £13,218 | £13,043 | £1,087 |
| 25 hours | £317.75 | £16,523 | £15,456 | £1,288 |
| 30 hours | £381.30 | £19,828 | £17,835 | £1,486 |
| 37.5 hours | £476.63 | £24,785 | £21,404 | £1,784 |
| 40 hours | £508.40 | £26,437 | £22,594 | £1,883 |
Below £12,570 a year there is no income tax or to pay, which is why the 16 hour row keeps every penny. For a fixed salary, see £25,000 after tax in Scotland or the average salary in Scotland.
Minimum wage take home pay in Scotland
On the full time example, Scottish income tax is about £2,403 and employee is about £977 for the year. The result is:
£1,784
average monthly take home pay
£21,404 for the year after tax and employee .
Scotland's 19% starter rate means a full time worker on the minimum wage pays about £40 a year less income tax than the same worker in England. is the same everywhere in the UK.
This is an illustration, not a payslip promise
Payroll is calculated in pay periods and can differ by a few pounds because of rounding, pension contributions, student loans, tax codes or other deductions. The important part is that every input and step here is shown.
To put your own hours, pension, student loan or in, use the take home pay calculator. It runs the same sum as this page, from the same tested code.
Why your pay may be lower
“Full time” does not guarantee 37.5 paid hours every week. Retail, care, hospitality and cleaning jobs often use changing rotas. Unpaid breaks reduce the paid hours. Sick days, a quiet week or a contract with no guaranteed hours can reduce the annual total.
Check paid hours rather than the length of the shift. If the hourly rate is below the legal minimum after allowed deductions, follow the steps below.
What to do if you are paid below the minimum wage
- Work out your hourly rate: pay before tax for the pay period, divided by the paid hours in that period.
- Take off anything you had to buy for the job and were not paid back for, such as a uniform or tools. That counts against your pay when the minimum wage is checked.
- Keep payslips, rotas and messages about your hours.
- Call the Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. The advice is free and confidential.
- Complain through GOV.UK. Minimum wage complaints go to , which can make the employer pay back straight away. The employer also faces a fine and can be named by the government.
Minimum wage in Glasgow and other Scottish cities
The legal minimum is the same in every part of Scotland. What changes from city to city is rent, so the same wage stretches further in some places than others. Average one bedroom rents from the for September 2026:
- Minimum wage in Glasgow: one bedroom rent averages £845 a month in the Greater Glasgow area.
- Minimum wage in Edinburgh: one bedroom rent averages £1,036 a month in the Lothian area.
- Minimum wage in Aberdeen: one bedroom rent averages £602 a month in the Aberdeen and Shire area.
- Minimum wage in Dundee: one bedroom rent averages £573 a month in the Dundee and Angus area.
Is it enough to live on?
A legal wage can still be below the cost of a decent basic life. research found that a single adult working full time at the legal minimum reached only 76% of the amount the public considered necessary in 2025. A lone parent with two young children reached 69%.
That is the difference between “the employer obeyed the wage law” and “the household has enough”. Read how the real Living Wage tries to close that gap, or see why Universal Credit changes as earnings rise.
Put the pay beside real Glasgow bills
The site works the same wage against rent, council tax, water and energy so the argument is based on the whole household budget, not one impressive looking salary figure.
See the Glasgow evidence
