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United Kingdom / Hourly pay

Hourly pay in the UK, 2026/27

£15 an hour, 37.5 a week
Gross pay£29,250
Take-home pay£24,580
£15 an hour over 37.5 is £29,250 a year — income tax £3,336, National Insurance £1,334, leaving £24,580.

An hourly rate in the UK converts to a salary through 37.5 hours a week and 52 weeks a year — 37.5 × 52 = 1,950 hours. That is 130 hours fewer than the 2,080 that American sites use, and it matters: at £15 an hour the difference is £1,950 a year of gross pay before any tax is even applied.

£29,250a year at £15 an hour, 37.5 hours
£24,580after tax and NI, no pension
Monthly take-home£2,048
With 5% pension£1,972
Hours a year1950
Effective rate16.0%

Why UK hourly pay is not 2,080 hours

The 2,080-hour figure comes from 40 hours × 52 weeks, which is the American full-time convention. A UK full-time contract is usually 37.5 hours, so 1,950 hours. Both numbers include paid holiday: your hourly rate already covers the statutory 5.6 weeks (28 days for a five-day week), which is why the hourly-paid year is 52 weeks of pay even though only about 46.4 weeks are actually worked. Multiply by 2,080 and you will overstate a UK hourly wage by roughly 6.7%.

Every hourly rate on this site

Each page below shows the yearly salary, the take-home with and without the statutory pension, the student loan deduction for each plan, and what the same rate looks like at 16, 20, 25, 30, 35, 37.5, 40, 45 and 48 hours a week.

£13 an hour£25,350 a year gross£14 an hour£27,300 a year gross£15 an hour£29,250 a year gross£16 an hour£31,200 a year gross£17 an hour£33,150 a year gross£18 an hour£35,100 a year gross£19 an hour£37,050 a year gross£20 an hour£39,000 a year gross£22 an hour£42,900 a year gross£24 an hour£46,800 a year gross£25 an hour£48,750 a year gross£26 an hour£50,700 a year gross£28 an hour£54,600 a year gross£30 an hour£58,500 a year gross£32 an hour£62,400 a year gross£35 an hour£68,250 a year gross£38 an hour£74,100 a year gross£40 an hour£78,000 a year gross£42 an hour£81,900 a year gross£45 an hour£87,750 a year gross£48 an hour£93,600 a year gross£50 an hour£97,500 a year gross£55 an hour£107,250 a year gross£60 an hour£117,000 a year gross

What actually comes off an hourly wage

Four things, and they behave differently. Income tax starts at £12,570 of annual pay, National Insurance at the same point but at a flat 8% up to £50,270 and 2% above it. The workplace pension is taken before income tax but not before National Insurance, so a 5% contribution cuts tax and leaves NI alone. Student loans are a percentage of everything above each plan's threshold, collected through PAYE.

At £15 an hour (£29,250 a year) that produces £4,670 of deductions: £24,580 reaches the bank. Add the 5% pension and the figure becomes £23,659, not because the pension is free but because it comes out before tax. A graduate on Plan 1 would repay £212 a year on top of that.

Scotland is a different answer at the same hourly rate

Scottish income tax has six bands instead of three, and the higher rate starts lower. An hourly rate that is comfortable in England can be worth noticeably less in Scotland once annual pay passes about £43,663. Every page in this section shows both figures side by side rather than assuming one UK.

Common questions

Does my hourly rate include holiday pay?

For hourly-paid staff, yes — holiday pay is paid at your average hourly rate for the 5.6 statutory weeks, so 52 weeks of pay at your normal hours is the right annual figure. If your contract pays rolled-up holiday pay separately on top, the annual total is higher than this page shows.

How do I go from a yearly salary to an hourly rate?

Divide by 1,950 for a 37.5-hour week. A £30,000 salary is £15.38 an hour. Using 2,080 gives £14.42, which is the American convention and understates the UK rate.

Is overtime taxed at a higher rate?

No. Overtime is ordinary pay: it is added to the year's total and taxed at whatever marginal rate that total reaches. It can push you across a band, which makes the extra hours look heavily taxed in the month they are paid, but PAYE corrects over the year.

Tax year: 2026/27. Sources:

Estimates for guidance only, not tax advice.