UK Tips & Minimum Wage Calculators
UK hospitality pay is a stack of moving parts — age-banded minimum wages, tips the law says belong entirely to you, tronc schemes, service charges, tax bands and holiday accrual. TipsPay UK's free calculators and plain-English guides put the numbers in one place.
By the TipsPay UK editorial team · Updated $1
Key numbers at a glance
| Rate (UK, from 1 April 2026) | Hourly pay | Full-time (38 h) week |
|---|---|---|
| National Living Wage — age 21+ | £12.71 | £482.98 |
| National Minimum Wage — age 18–20 | £10.85 | £412.30 |
| National Minimum Wage — age 16–17 | £8.00 | £304.00 |
| Apprentice rate | £8.00 | £304.00 |
| Statutory holiday (all workers) | 5.6 weeks / 28 days full-time | |
Rates per GOV.UK national minimum wage rates. Announced for April 2027: £13.21 (21+), £11.27 (18–20), £8.31 (16–17/apprentice).
Minimum Wage by Age Calculator
Your age band's rate times your hours — weekly, monthly and yearly pay, plus the April 2026 and April 2027 changes.
Take-Home Pay Calculator
Salary or hourly wage in; income tax by band, 8% National Insurance and your actual net pay out.
Tips Act 2023: Your Rights
100% of tips belong to workers. The rules, the records employers must keep, and how to challenge a skim.
Tronc Schemes Explained
How troncs work, what a tronc master does, and why a genuine tronc is exempt from Class 1 NICs.
Service Charge vs Tips vs Tronc
That 12.5% on the bill — where it goes, who decides, and what must reach staff by law.
Holiday Pay for Hospitality
5.6 weeks, 12.07% accrual for zero-hours staff, and rolled-up holiday pay since April 2024.
Glossary: the words on every UK payslip
Tip. Money a customer leaves voluntarily — cash on the table, a card tip on the receipt or an app tip. Under the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023, qualifying tips are the workers' money: employers must pass on 100% and allocate them fairly and transparently. Tips cannot count towards your National Minimum Wage — your hourly wage from the employer must clear your age band on its own.
Tronc. A formal arrangement for sharing tips, run by an independently appointed "tronc master" (often a senior manager or an external operator) who decides how the pot is split, usually by a points system. A genuine tronc operates its own PAYE scheme, and the payments are subject to income tax but not Class 1 National Insurance contributions — see our tronc guide.
Service charge. A percentage added to the bill — commonly 10%, 12.5% or 15% in UK restaurants. Discretionary charges are the customer's choice; "mandatory" or "pre-applied" ones are not. Since the Tips Act regime began, qualifying service charges must be treated like tips: 100% to workers. See service charge vs tips.
NLW / NMW. The National Living Wage is the rate for workers aged 21 and over; the National Minimum Wage covers the younger bands (18–20, 16–17, apprentice). From April 2026: £12.71, £10.85 and £8.00 — per the official GOV.UK rates table.
NMW age bands. 21+ (NLW), 18–20, 16–17, and apprentice. Apprentices aged under 19, or in the first year of an apprenticeship, get the apprentice rate regardless of age. Rates re-rate every April — use the minimum wage calculator for your band.
Holiday pay accrual. Full entitlement is 5.6 weeks a year. For irregular-hours and zero-hours workers, leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024 accrue at 12.07% of hours worked (5.6 ÷ 46.4), and employers can pay it rolled up — a 12.07% uplift on each payslip instead of pay when leave is taken.
Where to start
Checking your wage slip is legal? Start with the minimum wage calculator. Pick your age band, enter your contracted hours, and compare the result with what your employer actually pays — underpayment applies per hour worked, not per average week, and HMRC enforces it with penalties of up to 200% of arrears.
Budgeting from an offer or a new rota? The take-home pay calculator converts any salary — or an hourly rate times hours — into net monthly pay using the current tax bands: £12,570 tax-free, 20% to £50,270, 40% to £125,140, 45% above, plus 8% employee National Insurance (2% above the upper limit). Scottish income tax bands differ; we flag where.
Suspicious about the tip pot? Read the Tips Act guide first, then the tronc explainer. The short version: since 1 October 2024 your employer must pass on 100% of qualifying tips, allocate them fairly, keep records for 3 years, and show you your records if you ask. Agency workers are covered too.
Every tool on this site runs entirely in your browser — your numbers never leave your device. Nothing here is legal or tax advice; verify rates with GOV.UK and get free, confidential workplace help from ACAS.
FAQ
Do tips count towards the National Minimum Wage in the UK?
No. Unlike the US tip credit system, UK employers cannot use tips, service charges or tronc payments to bring pay up to the National Minimum Wage. Your employer-paid hourly wage alone must reach your age band rate — £12.71 for 21+ from April 2026 — for every hour worked.
Can my employer keep a cut of my tips?
No. Since the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 came into force on 1 October 2024, employers must pass on 100% of qualifying tips and service charges to workers. Only limited deductions (such as tax through PAYE) are allowed, and a tronc master may deduct reasonable administration costs. Workers can request their tipping records, which employers must keep for 3 years.
What is the UK minimum wage now?
From 1 April 2026 the National Living Wage (age 21+) is £12.71 an hour; 18–20 year olds get £10.85; under-18s and apprentices get £8.00. From April 2027 the announced rates rise to £13.21, £11.27 and £8.31 respectively. Always verify current rates on GOV.UK.
Are tips taxed in the UK?
Yes — tips, service charges and tronc payments are taxable income. How they are taxed depends on the route: cash tips you receive directly are outside PAYE but still taxable; card tips paid through payroll and tronc payments go through PAYE. A genuine, independently-run tronc is exempt from Class 1 National Insurance contributions — see HMRC guidance E24.
How much holiday do hospitality workers get?
Statutory paid holiday is 5.6 weeks a year — 28 days for a full-time worker, pro-rated for part-time. Since April 2024, zero-hours and irregular-hours workers accrue holiday at 12.07% of hours worked, and employers may pay rolled-up holiday pay as a 12.07% uplift on each payslip for these workers only.
Is TipsPay UK free to use?
Yes — every calculator runs in your browser and nothing you enter is stored or sent anywhere. The site is informational and not legal, tax or financial advice; verify rates with GOV.UK and get free workplace help from ACAS.