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Time work

If you are paid according to the number of hours you are at work, you are doing time work – so anybody whose pay goes up or down depending on the actual hours they work is likely to be doing time work. This includes workers who are paid piece rates but have to be at a factory for a set numbers of hours a day to produce their work.

To find out if you are entitled to receive the National Minimum Wage (NMW) you should read the other NMW articles.

• Workers entitled to the National Minimum Wage

• Who is not entitled to the National Minimum Wage

Time workers must be paid the NMW for hours spent:

• at work and required to be working or on standby near your workplace (but not on rest breaks)
• when kept at the workplace but unable to work because of machine breakdown
• travelling on business during normal working hours
• training or travelling to training during normal working hours
• awake and working, during ‘sleeping time’

Sleeping time means any time when you are allowed to sleep if your employer arranges for you to sleep at or near where you work and provides you with suitable facilities for doing so.

Time workers don’t need to be paid the NMW for hours spent:

• travelling between home and work
• away from work on rest breaks, holidays, sick leave or maternity leave
• away from work because of industrial action
• asleep, or awake but not working, during ‘sleeping time’

Salaried hours work

If you are paid under your contract for a set basic number of hours a year, and get an annual salary paid in equal weekly or monthly instalments, you are a salaried hours worker. Your contract does not have to state your hours as an annual figure (eg, 2,000 hours a year), but it must be possible to work out from the contract what your basic annual hours are.

Salaried hours workers must be paid the NMW for hours spent:

• at work and required to be working
• on standby, or on call, at or near the place of work
• when kept at the workplace but unable to work because of machine breakdown
• travelling on business during normal working hours
• training or travelling to training during normal working hours
• away from work on rest breaks, lunch breaks, holidays, sick leave or maternity leave, where these form part of your minimum hours under your contract
• awake, and working, during ‘sleeping time’ (see ‘time work’ above)

Salaried hours workers don’t need to be paid the NMW for hours spent:

• when you are paid less than your normal pay, for instance if you only get half-pay while on sick leave
• on any unpaid leave which your employer allows you to take
• away from work because of industrial action
• asleep, or awake but not working, during ‘sleeping time’ where your salaried hours contract clearly sets out the period when you are permitted to sleep

If you are required to be on duty for 24 hours and are not specifically provided with sleeping time between set hours you may have to be paid the NMW for the full 24 hours.

Calculating whether you are paid the NMW

Before working out if you are paid the NMW as a time or salaried hours worker you may find it helpful to read the article on 'Calculating the National Minimum Wage: the basics' which explains some of the terms, including what a 'pay reference period' is.

• Calculating the National Minimum Wage: the basics

If you are a time worker, to calculate whether you are being paid the NMW you should divide the amount you were paid in your pay reference period by the number of hours you spent working.

If you are a salaried hours worker you should:

Step one: find the number of hours over a year which your contract calls for

Step two: work out the average number of hours in each pay reference period

Step three: divide the amount of pay in each pay reference period by the number of hours in each pay reference period

This will give your hourly pay.

The average number of hours per pay reference period will not necessarily be the same as the hours you actually work. For example, salaried hours workers could be school staff who get the same monthly or weekly pay throughout the year even though they only work in term time.

Calculating the NMW can be more complicated than this. If you are unsure how to make the calculation for your working pattern you could contact the Pay and Work Rights Helpline for further advice.

Example calculation for time workers

You are a time worker paid £275 a week and you are at work for 36 hours a week. You spend five hours a week travelling to work from your home and another eight hours travelling on business. You are entitled to the NMW for the 36 hours at work and the eight hours travelling on business, but not for the five hours travelling from home to work.

Step one: calculate the hours that count towards the NMW (36 hours + 8 hours = 44 hours)

Step two: divide your pay by the hours that count towards the NMW (£275 / 44 = £6.25)

This is above the NMW.

Example calculation for salaried hours workers

You are a salaried hours worker paid £12,400 a year in monthly instalments of £1,033 for 2,080 hours a year.

Step one: calculate the hours in each pay reference period (2,080 / 12 = 173.3 hours)

Step two: calculate your hourly pay, this is your pay in each pay reference period divided by the hours in each pay reference period (£1,033 / 173.3 = £5.96)

This is below the NMW.

Where to get help

The Pay and Work Rights Helpline gives confidential help and advice on the NMW in over 100 languages. If you are not being paid the NMW contact the Pay and Work Rights Helpline or use the online enquiry or complaint form.

• Pay and Work Rights general enquiry form Opens new window

• Pay and Work Rights complaint form Opens new window

• Pay and Work Rights Helpline contact details