£15 an Hour — Full Breakdown
If you earn £15 per hour and work a standard 37.5-hour week, your gross annual salary is £29,250. After income tax and National Insurance for 2026/27, your take home pay is £24,580 per year or £2,048 per month.
Is £15 Per Hour a Good Wage?
£15 per hour is 23% above the National Minimum Wage of £12.21 and sits just below the UK median hourly rate of roughly £16.50. This is a solid entry-level to early-career wage. You are earning more than the Real Living Wage (£12.60), which means your pay should cover essential costs in most parts of the UK outside London. It is a common rate for roles that require some experience or a specific skill set but not necessarily a degree. For context, about 45% of UK workers earn less than this.
What Does £15/Hour Get You?
On a 37.5-hour week, £15/hr gives you £2,048 per month after tax and National Insurance (or £473 per week). Here is what that looks like in practice:
Your monthly take-home of £2,048 gives you workable options. Budget roughly £676 for rent (a modest flat outside London or a room in zone 3+), £246 for bills and council tax, and £307 for food. After about £205 for travel, that leaves around £614 per month. That is enough for small savings contributions and occasional treats, but a tight budget if you have dependents. Use our tax calculator to model different weekly hours.
Who Earns Around £15 Per Hour?
A wide range of skilled and semi-skilled roles pay around £15 per hour in the UK. Common positions include:
- Experienced teaching assistant
- Junior HR or payroll administrator
- Pharmacy technician
- Fitness instructor
- Trainee dental hygienist
Salaries vary by location, employer, and experience. Use our take-home pay calculator to see your exact figures.
Moving Up from £15/Hour
At £15/hr, targeted upskilling is your fastest route to a pay rise. If you are in care, an NVQ Level 3 can open senior carer and team leader roles at £15–18/hr. In trades, completing a full apprenticeship or getting qualified (e.g., City & Guilds in plumbing or electrical) can double your rate within 3–4 years. Administrative and office roles reward bookkeeping qualifications (AAT Level 2 costs around £300) and Excel proficiency. For tech-curious workers, free courses on platforms like FreeCodeCamp or Google Digital Garage can open doors to digital marketing or web development roles paying £18–25/hr. See what £20/hr looks like: £20/hr salary breakdown.
£15 an Hour at Different Weekly Hours
Not everyone works a 37.5-hour week. Here is what £15 an hour comes to as an annual salary — and take-home pay after tax and National Insurance for 2026/27 — at the most common full-time and part-time schedules. A 40-hour week at £15/hr is £31,200 a year (take home £2,165/month), while a 30-hour week is £23,400 a year (take home £1,697/month).
| Weekly hours | Gross / year | Take home / year | Take home / month |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 hrs/wk | £31,200 | £25,984 | £2,165 |
| 37.5 hrs/wk (standard) | £29,250 | £24,580 | £2,048 |
| 35 hrs/wk | £27,300 | £23,176 | £1,931 |
| 30 hrs/wk | £23,400 | £20,368 | £1,697 |
| 20 hrs/wk | £15,600 | £14,752 | £1,229 |
Gross = £15/hr × weekly hours × 52 weeks. Take-home figures apply the 2026/27 England income-tax bands (20/40/45%) and Class 1 National Insurance (8% / 2%), standard tax code, no student loan or pension. Change any assumption in the full calculator.
Different hours or want to add student loans?
Use our full calculator →Other Hourly Rates
See the full salary breakdown: £29,250 salary after tax | £30k salary | Is £15/hr good?
Self-employed? Use our freelancer tax calculator. See also: Edinburgh salaries | Legal salaries UK