Add Apprentices to your payroll in the same way as any other employee.

The exception is you need to use NI category H (apprentice under 25).

Read our article Add a new employee.

Once you've added the apprentice to payroll, you must pay them at the correct rate.

 NOTE: Payroll performs a national minimum wage check for your regular employees. There are no corresponding checks made on apprentices. The responsibility for paying apprentices the correct rate lies with the employer.

What is the minimum wage for apprentices?

The national minimum wage (NMW) is an entitlement of all apprentices. This varies depending on their age group. 

As of 1 April 2024, the rates are:

Is your apprentice over 19 years old? Have they also completed the first year of their current apprenticeship? They're entitled to the minimum wage for their age group

Do apprentices have to pay tax?

Yes. Apprentices also have to pay national insurance. Both this and the tax owed deducts straight from their wages, like other employees.

Apprentice wages can often be lower than average. They often fall under the threshold above which tax is payable. Because of this, many apprentices may find that they don’t have to pay tax on their earnings at all.

Common mistakes

You could underpay apprentices who receive the NMW rates or above.

This can happen because:

• An apprentice may be 19 or over and completed the first year of their apprenticeship. They get the higher age-related minimum wage rate
• You're not paying an apprentice for training time. HMRC class training time as working time. You should pay the apprentice for this.

Checks you can make 

Check which payments count towards the apprentice wage. For example, you may pay an allowance for food or tools.

We recommend you use HMRC's National Minimum Wage and Living Wage calculator for employers. Check which payments to include.

Once you know this, in Payroll you can set up the relevant payments within payroll if needed.

Read our article Create and manage payments.

You can now be sure your apprentices aren't earning less than their legal entitlement.