What's covered in this guide:

When National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates change, you’ll need to update employee pay rates in Workforce.com to remain compliant.

When should the new minimum wage apply?

Minimum wage compliance is assessed over a pay reference period (PRP), the period your pay covers (for example, weekly or monthly).

Because of this:

Updated minimum wage rates should be applied from the start of the first pay reference period beginning on or after 1 April.

What this means

The correct effective date depends on your pay cycle, not automatically 1 April.

Examples

Monthly pay period (1 April – 30 April)
New rate applies from 1 April
Monthly pay period (16 March – 15 April)
Old rate applies until 15 April
New rate applies from 16 April

Weekly pay cycle
New rate applies from the first full week starting after 1 April

💡 Note: This guide provides general guidance based on standard UK minimum wage rules. If you’re unsure how this applies to your business, we recommend checking with HMRC or your accountant.

How to update pay rates

Bulk update pay rates by CSV

You can bulk schedule pay rate changes by importing a CSV through Manage Employment Conditions.

The CSV supports these pay-related columns:

Column	Notes
`annual_salary`	Annual salary
`hourly_rate`	Hourly rate
`contracted_weekly_hours`	Weekly hours
`start_date`	When the new rate takes effect (required)

The start_date column is key. The import creates a new Employment Condition Set from that date and automatically closes off the previous one the day before. This gives you a clean dated history of pay changes.

Change pay rates when using positions

If your business uses positions, pay rates are managed through the position template rather than directly on the employee profile.

To update the pay rate on the position:

Go to Workforce > Positions > Position Templates
Open the relevant position, make your changes, and click Save.
The updated rate will apply to employees assigned to that position in their Pay Conditions.

Update pay rates individually

You can update an employee’s pay by scheduling a new Pay Conditions contract.

Go to Workforce > Staff
Select the relevant employee
Open the Pay Conditions tab
Click Add new conditions
When prompted, select Yes to apply the change from an alternate date
Enter the correct effective date
(based on the employee’s pay cycle, see examples above)
Update the pay rate and any other relevant conditions
(Optional) Choose Yes to notify the employee and send updated contract details
Review and confirm the changes

Learn more on how to update employee pay conditions.

What happens next?

The update will appear under Upcoming Pay Conditions on the employee profile
The new pay rate will automatically apply from the selected effective date.

FAQs

Can I bulk schedule a pay rate change from a future date?

Yes, you can bulk schedule pay rate changes from a future date.

You can either:

Import pay rate changes in bulk by Manage Exmployment Conditions CSV, which applies the new rates.
Schedule a future-dated pay rate change individually for each employee using Make a Change in Pay Conditions.

Can I use a template to automate National Minimum Wage updates?

Yes. You can apply the UK Minimum and Living Wage Template to help manage compliance with the latest UK minimum wage and national living wage requirements.

The template applies updated rates from the start of the relevant pay reference period, helping ensure changes take effect at the correct time.

Update Employee Pay Conditions

Update National Minimum Wage