Pay and salary guides

What 1257L means, why a new job can put you on an emergency code, and what BR, 0T, D0, NT and K codes do to your pay, with how to get a wrong code fixed and any overpaid tax back.

What the National Living Wage leaves you after tax, National Insurance and pension in 2026 to 2027, worked out line by line for 37.5, 40 and 48 hour weeks, with the thresholds shown.

Since 6 April 2026, SSP is paid from the first day off sick, with no minimum earnings test. It is £123.25 a week or 80% of your normal weekly earnings, whichever is lower. Here is how it works.

There is no legal right to time and a half in the UK. Your contract decides overtime rates, but the minimum wage, the 48 hour week and holiday pay rules all still apply. Here is where the lines are.

No law makes employers pay more for nights, weekends or bank holidays. Here is what a typical premium looks like, what the law does protect for night workers, and how a premium interacts with the minimum wage.

From 1 April 2026 the National Living Wage is £12.71 an hour at 21 and over, £10.85 at 18 to 20 and £8.00 for under 18s and apprentices. Here is who gets which rate and when it changes.

Gross pay, tax code, NI letter, pension, student loan, year to date: what every line on a UK payslip means, what must legally be on it, and the five checks worth doing every payday.

If your hours change week to week, holiday builds up at 12.07% of the hours you work, and since April 2024 it can be rolled up into your hourly pay. Here is how it is worked out and what to check.