What will it really cost to employ someone?

For small businesses taking on staff, especially a first or second hire. The wage is usually the easy bit. On top of it there is employer National Insurance, pension and a handful of smaller costs that are easy to forget. This calculator adds it all up for a year and checks that the pay meets the legal minimum wage, including where you provide accommodation. It covers employers in England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland has its own employment law and is not covered.

Fill in the basics and press Calculate. Everything in the "More detail" and "More pay details" sections is optional.

Your privacy: everything is worked out in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere or stored. No cookies, no tracking.

The person you are employing

How old are they?

Under 18 18 to 20 21 or over

Are they an apprentice?

No Yes

How will you pay them?

By the hour Annual salary

Hourly rate

Hours per week

Your business

Which tax year?

2026/27 (6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027) 2027/28 (6 April 2027 to 5 April 2028)

Compare this year and next (2026/27 and 2027/28) side by side

Is this your first employee?

No Yes

Employment Allowance: can you claim it?

Yes No Not sure

If you are not sure, we will show the cost both with and without it.

How much Employment Allowance is already used by existing staff this year?

It is shared across the whole business, not given per person. Put £0 if this is your first employee.

The Apprenticeship Levy only applies to employers with a salary bill over £3 million.

Accommodation

Does the business provide living accommodation (for example, a room, caravan, flat or cottage)?

No Yes

More detail: pay pattern and pension (optional)

How often will you pay them?

Days worked per week

Weeks paid per year

Usually 52. Paid holiday counts as paid weeks.

Check a specific pay period starting on (optional)

Leave blank to use the first day of the tax year.

Holiday days in a pay period, for the holiday check

Leave blank to check a week with 2 days off (weekly pay) or a month with a week off (monthly pay).

Pension

Your pension contribution (%)

The legal minimum is 3% of qualifying earnings.

Worked out on

They have opted out of the pension

More detail: other running costs (optional, per year)

Recruitment

Training

Equipment

Uniform or PPE

DBS or other checks

Software or licences

Benefits (for example, a health cash plan)

Anything else: what is it?

Anything else: yearly cost

More detail: sickness and holiday cover (optional)

Expected sick days per year

Used to estimate Statutory Sick Pay. Leave blank or 0 to skip.

Include the cost of covering their statutory holiday (5.6 weeks, capped at 28 days)

Adds the cost of paying someone else at the same rate while they are on holiday.

More pay details (overtime, salary sacrifice, deductions, farming and more)

Overtime and bonus

Overtime pay per year

Overtime hours per year

Bonus per year

Commission or other pay for work done, per year

The overtime is regular (worked often, not a one-off)

Salary sacrifice

Salary sacrifice per pay period

Costs the worker pays and deductions

Worker-paid costs and deductions per pay period

Things the worker pays for, or has taken from their pay, that are connected with the job or for your benefit. For example a required uniform, tools, PPE, training or an admin fee.

Extra working time

Extra working hours per week that may not be paid

Time that counts for minimum wage but is not in their contracted hours.

Irregular hours or part-year worker

They are an irregular-hours or part-year worker

Benefits in kind

Taxable value of benefits per year

Agricultural workers

Do they work in agriculture?

Good to know

Tips: Tips and service charges do not count towards minimum wage. By law you must pass them on to staff in full, without deductions other than tax and, where due, National Insurance. If you decide how tips are shared, you may have to pay employer National Insurance on them. You do not if an independent troncmaster runs the scheme. GOV.UK guidance on tips.

The employee's own deductions: employee tax, employee National Insurance and student loan repayments come out of the employee's pay. They are not an extra cost to you.

Check holiday pay for someone you already employ (optional)

Uses their pay over the last 52 weeks. It also uses their age, current pay, hours and days per week from the top of the form.

Check holiday pay for this person