The legal minimum is one number. Keeping the pay structure above it is another. Compare the annual cost of each approach.
Current 21+ £12.71 → 1 April 2027 £13.21Each role uses the appropriate age-band minimum as its comparison point. If you manage a single pay hierarchy across different ages, review the suggested figures together before adopting them.
These are illustrative staff groups, not your nursery's figures. Use paid hours, including holiday entitlement, and group only staff on identical terms.
| Role | Staff | Wage band | Current £/hr | Paid hrs/wk | Employer NI status | Pension member | Suggested £/hr | Extra / yr | Remove |
|---|
| Scenario | Additional annual cost | Additional monthly cost |
|---|
Total estimated annual employment cost after pay changes: £0. This is not the entire nursery operating budget.
Check wage-band eligibility, actual working time, salary sacrifice, apprentices in later years, NI categories, pension membership and contractual commitments. The employer NI estimate is annualised and excludes Employment Allowance and payroll timing; pension qualifying-earnings thresholds are planning assumptions. Pay increases need to be assessed against the nursery's funding and fee income.
Using the numbers
Use the figures as a starting point for a real business decision, with your own assumptions and evidence.
01 / How to use the calculator
02 / Worked example
Illustration: Ten practitioners each work 37.5 paid hours over 52 weeks. A 50p hourly increase adds £9,750 a year in gross wages (10 × 37.5 × 52 × £0.50). Employer National Insurance and pension costs may increase the total. If room leaders also receive increases to protect their pay gaps, the cost rises further.
These are illustrative inputs, not a forecast for any particular setting. Enter the actual team to see your result.
03 / Interpreting the result
The legal minimum and the pay structure you choose are different decisions. A nursery can comply with the new rate and still lose the gap between practitioners, room leaders and managers. Compare the scenarios, then consider retention, recruitment and the business’s ability to afford them.
This is a planning tool. Check employee eligibility, working time, apprentices, contractual pay, employer National Insurance and pension arrangements before making a payroll decision.
Official reference: GOV.UK: minimum wage rates
Content reviewed 29 October 2026. Recheck rates, funding rules and your assumptions before making a decision.
Questions owners ask
No. It illustrates what happens when you maintain existing cash or percentage pay differences. Responsibility, qualifications, local recruitment conditions and your salary structure still need a management decision.
No. They are modelled estimates. Actual costs depend on payroll periods, employee circumstances, thresholds, pensionable pay and whether allowances apply.
The rates announced for 1 April 2027. Check the linked GOV.UK rates before using it for a later pay review.