April 2026 Minimum Wage Rise — What Festival Workers Should Know

The UK's statutory minimum wage rates went up on 1 April 2026. If you're working at the Edinburgh festivals this summer, this is the pay floor you should expect — and the number to check against when your first payslip lands.

Here's what the new rates are, what they work out to over a typical Fringe run, and what to do if you think you're being underpaid.

The new rates (effective 1 April 2026)

These are statutory minimums, not targets. Employers who pay below these rates are breaking the law — regardless of whether you're on a zero-hours contract, a fixed-term contract, or "casual" shifts.

The accommodation offset is only relevant if your employer provides somewhere to live as part of the job. A handful of Fringe venues do this — mostly for live-in volunteer or staff roles. The offset is the most an employer can deduct from your wage to cover accommodation costs. At £11.10 per day, that's a cap of around £333 over a 30-day Fringe run.

What this means over a Fringe contract

A typical Fringe contract is six weeks (setup, run, and teardown), four to six shifts a week, often 8–10 hour shifts. Some real examples at the new statutory floor:

• A 21-year-old on 40 hours a week — £508.40 gross per week (£12.71 × 40). Over a six-week run, that's roughly £3,050 before tax.
• A 19-year-old on 35 hours a week — £379.75 gross per week (£10.85 × 35). Over six weeks, £2,278 before tax.
• A 17-year-old on 25 hours a week — £200 gross per week (£8.00 × 25). Over six weeks, £1,200 before tax.

For most short-stint festival workers, your earnings will fall below the £12,570 annual personal allowance, so you shouldn't owe income tax. PAYE may still be deducted automatically — you can reclaim it from HMRC at the end of the tax year if so.

How Fringe pay actually works

Most Fringe roles fall into one of four structures:

• Hourly — the simplest, and the easiest to audit against minimum wage. Bar work, front of house, stewarding, and box office generally fall here.
• Shift rate — a flat fee per shift, usually 4–8 hours. Check the hourly equivalent against your age band before you accept.
• Salaried for the run — technical staff and crew leads sometimes get a flat fee for the whole festival. Divide it by the total hours you'll work. If that falls below statutory minimum, it's not legal.
• Tips — tips on top of wages are yours. Tips instead of a wage aren't legal. Since October 2024, the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act requires employers to pass on 100% of tips to staff and have a written tips policy.

What can and can't be deducted

Employers can deduct:

• Accommodation (up to the £11.10/day offset)
• Tax and National Insurance (PAYE)
• Student loan repayments (if applicable)
• Things you've specifically agreed to in writing (e.g. a uniform deposit that's refunded later)

Employers cannot deduct:

• Uniform costs that take you below minimum wage
• Till shortages or breakages that take you below minimum wage
• Training costs, unless you've specifically agreed to them in advance
• Anything that isn't in your contract or on your written agreement

You're also entitled to an itemised payslip every pay period, rest breaks (20 minutes if you work over six hours, unpaid by default), and holiday pay accrued pro rata.

Employers who pay above the minimum

Some Edinburgh festival employers are accredited Real Living Wage employers — a voluntary higher rate set by the Living Wage Foundation (currently £12.60 per hour outside London for 2025–26). In practice this matters less now the statutory National Living Wage has caught up for over-21s, but it's still meaningfully above minimum for 18–20 year-olds.

The Fringe Society itself and a number of venues pay the Real Living Wage as a minimum. Assembly has published pay bands of £13.45–£15.25 per hour for front of house and bar roles in recent years. If you're comparing two similar roles, the hourly rate is almost always listed — if it isn't, ask.

Spotting underpayment

Work out your hourly rate from your payslip: total pay (before deductions but after any accommodation offset) ÷ total hours worked = your effective hourly rate. If that's below the rate for your age band, you're being underpaid.

If you think you're being underpaid:

1. Raise it with your employer first — often it's a payroll error, not deliberate, and it gets corrected on the next payslip.
2. Keep records — your rota, actual hours worked, your payslips, and any WhatsApp/email messages about hours.
3. If that doesn't resolve it, report to HMRC via gov.uk. HMRC's National Minimum Wage team can investigate anonymously and recover back pay. You can also call ACAS on 0300 123 1100 for free, confidential advice.

HMRC can name employers publicly for underpayment and fine them up to 200% of the underpayment. It takes underpayment seriously, even at small scale.

Ready to find your festival role?

Browse current openings on /jobs. Most listings show the hourly rate up front — if they don't, that's a fair question to ask in your application. For a deeper look at specific roles, see our guides to bar work in Edinburgh this August and every Fringe role and how to get hired.