16 hours a week: what you take home
The short answer: on the National Living Wage of £12.71 an hour, 16 hours a week pays £203.36 a week, £881 a month or £10,575 a year. That is below the £12,570 tax-free allowance, so there is no Income Tax and no National Insurance: what you earn is what you take home, apart from any pension.
16 hours a week at different hourly rates
| Hourly rate | Before tax a week | Before tax a year | Take-home a year | Take-home a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £8.00 | £128.00 | £6,656 | £6,656 | £555 |
| £10.85 | £173.60 | £9,027 | £9,027 | £752 |
| £12.71 | £203.36 | £10,575 | £10,575 | £881 |
| £13.21 | £211.36 | £10,991 | £10,991 | £916 |
| £14.10 | £225.60 | £11,731 | £11,731 | £978 |
| £15.00 | £240.00 | £12,480 | £12,480 | £1,040 |
| £18.00 | £288.00 | £14,976 | £14,302 | £1,192 |
| £20.00 | £320.00 | £16,640 | £15,500 | £1,292 |
£8.00 is the rate for 16 to 17-year-olds and apprentices, £10.85 for 18 to 20-year-olds and £12.71 for 21 and over. £13.21 is the National Living Wage from 1 April 2027, and £14.10 is the voluntary Real Living Wage outside London. Tax only starts at about £15.11 an hour on 16 hours.
Why 16 hours is a common number
Lots of part-time contracts are 16 hours, often two 8-hour shifts. Part of the reason is that several rules are pegged to 16 hours at the minimum wage:
- Funded childcare. The 30 hours of funded childcare for working parents in England needs each parent to expect to earn at least 16 hours a week at their minimum wage over the next 3 months. For someone 21 or over that is £203.36 a week, or £2,643.68 over 3 months. You do not have to work 16 hours, just earn that much.
- Carer's Allowance. You can earn up to £204 a week after deductions and still get Carer's Allowance of £86.45 a week in 2026/27. That limit is now linked to 16 hours at the National Living Wage. Go a penny over and you lose the whole allowance for that week.
Pension on 16 hours
If you are 22 or over and earn more than £10,000 a year, your employer must enrol you in a workplace pension. 16 hours at £12.71 is £10,575, so you just qualify. Contributions are usually worked out on pay above £6,240, so the 5% minimum comes to about £18 a month and your employer adds 3% on top. You can opt out, but you would lose your employer's money. See what employer pension contributions are worth.
From 1 April 2027, 16 hours at £13.21 comes to £10,991 a year, so you would stay over the line.
Holiday on 16 hours a week
You get the same 5.6 weeks as everyone else, pro rata: 16 × 5.6 = 89.6 hours of paid holiday a year. How that converts to days depends on your shifts:
- 2 days of 8 hours: 11.2 days
- 4 days of 4 hours: 22.4 days
Bank holidays come out of this, not on top, unless your contract says otherwise. See part-time holiday entitlement.
16 hours and Universal Credit
Universal Credit has no hours rule. If you have a work allowance, you keep all your take-home up to £427 or £710 a month, then 45p of each extra pound. 16 hours at £12.71 is about £881 a month, so with the lower £427 work allowance, your Universal Credit would fall by about £250 and you would be about £631 a month better off. See part-time work and Universal Credit.
If 16 hours is a second job
The figures above assume this is your only or main job. If you already use your tax-free allowance in another job, a second job usually gets tax code BR and pays 20% tax on every pound, so 16 hours at £12.71 would lose about £40.67 a week to tax. National Insurance is worked out separately for each job, so you would pay none on this one. See why your second job is taxed so much.
What counts as part-time?
There is no legal cut-off. Most employers treat anything under 35 hours as part-time, and the ONS counts 30 hours or fewer. Part-time workers have the right to the same hourly rate, holiday, sick pay and pension as full-time colleagues, pro rata. See how many hours you can work before paying tax.
Figures use the 2026/27 tax year. Take-home assumes this is your main job with tax code 1257L and no pension unless stated.
Sources
Common questions
How much is 16 hours a week on minimum wage?
At £12.71 an hour, 16 hours is £203.36 a week, £881 a month or £10,575 a year. There is no Income Tax or National Insurance to pay on that, so it is also your take-home, before any pension.
Do I pay tax on 16 hours a week?
Not if this is your only job and you earn under £12,570 a year. At 16 hours a week you would need to earn more than about £15.11 an hour before any Income Tax is due.
Is 16 hours a week part-time?
Yes. There is no legal definition, but anything well under 35 hours is part-time. Part-time workers have the same rights as full-time staff, pro rata.
How much holiday do I get on 16 hours a week?
At least 5.6 weeks, which is 89.6 hours a year. If you work your 16 hours over 2 days, that is 11.2 days.
Will I be enrolled in a pension on 16 hours?
If you are 22 or over and earn more than £10,000 a year, yes. 16 hours at £12.71 is £10,575 a year, just over the line, so you would be enrolled automatically.
Why does 16 hours matter for childcare?
To get the 30 hours of funded childcare for working parents in England, each parent must expect to earn at least the equivalent of 16 hours a week at their minimum wage, about £203 a week if you are 21 or over.