What is the National Minimum Wage? The National Minimum Wage is the lowest amount you must pay most of your employees. It's an hourly amount and depends on their age. NOTE: The National Minimum Wage is only mandatory for your employees 20 and over. The 2026 National Minimum Wage rates are as follows: | Employee age | Hourly rate- 2026 | | 20 and over | €14.15 | | 19 | €12.74 | | 18 | €11.32 | | Under 18 years | €9.91 | The 2027 National Minimum Wage rate will increase by €0.79 for people aged 20 from €14.15 to €14.94 | Employee age | Hourly rate - 2027 | | 20 and over - (100%) | €14.94 | | 19 -(90%) | €13.45 | | 18 - (80%) | €11.95 | | Under 18 years - (70%) | €10.46 | The 2025 National Minimum Wage rates were as follows: | Employee age | Hourly rate | | 20 and over | €13.50 | | 19 | €12.15 | | 18 | €10.80 | | Under 18 years | €9.45 | Get a better understanding of how the National Minimum Wage affects your business. Read the article on the Gov.ie website. National Minimum Wage check Sage Payroll now performs a National Minimum Wage check in your pay run. The check shows if your eligible hourly payments meet the government legislation for the National Minimum Wage. In the pay run, payroll checks employee hourly payments. It will warn you if they don't meet the National Minimum Wage. NOTE: The check only applies to hourly payments, not deductions. You can correct and change them if necessary. If you need help with your pay run, read our article Processing your payroll. Employee Minimum Wage Rates The Employee Minimum Wage Rates report shows each employee's Minimum Wage band and required hourly rate. Run the report from the Reporting dropdown menu. Select Employee Minimum Wage Rates. TIP: If there’s no value in the rate per-hour column, you’ve entered an incorrect date of birth. For example, the employee start date, which means the employee is too young to qualify. |