Find ways to boost your income below, including:
- Checking you're not being underpaid if you earn National Minimum wage
- Checking whether you could claim any benefits
- Getting help with childcare costs
- Making sure you're not overpaying for prescriptions
- Claiming the marriage tax allowance
The national minimum wage is the legal minimum an employer can pay anyone working in the UK. The current hourly rates since 1 April 2022 are:
- Apprentices - £4.81
- Under 18 - £4.81
- Age 18 – 20 - £6.83
- Age 21 – 22 - £9.18
- Age 23+ - £9.50
These rates apply to everyone, even if you’re not paid hourly.
Your employer must pay you the right amount by law, although there are exceptions if you are:
- Self-employed
- A volunteer
- In the armed forces
- Doing work experience
- Shadowing someone at work
- Under school leaving age
- On a Jobcentre Plus Work trial for up to six weeks
- A prisoner
Are you being underpaid?
Mistakes such as unpaid working time or wage deductions put you at risk of being underpaid and most of the time underpayments happen by mistake.
The Money Saving Expert website has some useful tips on things to look out for to make sure you’re not being underpaid: National Minimum Wage - MoneySavingExpert
If you think you’re being underpaid:
First, figure out if you’ve been underpaid.
The Government has a useful calculator to help you check what you should be paid: https://www.gov.uk/am-i-getting-minimum-wage
If you have been underpaid, and you feel comfortable, you can talk directly to your employer – it may just have been a mistake. If you’re nervous about doing that, or you no longer work for the company, you can ask HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to investigate by filling in this online form: https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/digital-forms/open/form/pay-and-work-rights-complaint/draft/start#1
If you need any help or guidance, you can speak to the ACAS helpline: https://www.acas.org.uk/contact
If your family income is under £30,000 (or £50,000 in some cases), it’s worth checking to see if you’re eligible for any benefits.
Even if you only qualify for a small amount, it could help you claim other support such as council tax reductions and reduced energy tariffs.
Find out more: (Link to benefits page)
If you’re on means-tested benefits and have a low income, your child may qualify for free school meals.
Check if your child can get free school meals, and find out how to apply: Apply for free school meals - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Childcare costs can be huge, no matter the age of your child. Lots of working parents are missing out on help with these costs.
You can get financial support for children of all ages, and there are lots of schemes that can help, depending on your family’s circumstances. The support can cover after-school or school holiday costs too.
- If you have a three or four-year-old child, you may be able to get up to 30 hours free childcare a week. Check your eligibility on the Government website: 30 hours free childcare - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
- If you are on Universal Credit and you work, you may be able to claim back up to 85% of your childcare costs. You can claim this through your online Universal Credit account. You will need to provide evidence of your costs, such as a letter from your registered childcare provider, a bank statement, or a payment receipt.
- If you’re not entitled to benefits, you may still qualify for Tax-Free childcare. If you’re eligible, you can get up to £2000 a year for each of your children to help with the costs of childcare. You may receive more if your child is disabled. You need to be in work to qualify, this includes those who are self-employed. Find out more and apply on the Government website: Apply for Tax-Free Childcare - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The Family Fund helps families who are raising a disabled or seriously ill child or young person aged 17 or under. You can apply if you have a low income or are receiving means-tested benefits such as Universal Credit, Child Tax Credits, or Housing Benefits. If you’re not receiving any of these benefits, you may still be able to apply but you will need to provide extra information about your income.
The Fund can help with grants towards items including washing machines, sensory toys, family breaks, bedding, tablets, furniture, clothing, and computers.
Find out more: Family Fund
If you’re pregnant or have a baby under six months old, and you or your partner are on certain benefits, you may qualify for a Sure Start Maternity Grant. You can claim the grant from 11 weeks before your baby is due, and up to six months after your baby is born. You can also apply in the case of adoption or surrogacy.
Find out more: Sure Start Maternity Grant: Overview - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Medical exemption certificates
If you have certain medical conditions, you may be entitled to a medical exemption certificate. This entitles you to free NHS prescriptions.
You're entitled to a medical exemption certificate if you have either:
- a permanent fistula (for example, caecostomy, colostomy, laryngostomy or ileostomy) which needs continuous surgical dressing or an appliance
- a form of hypoadrenalism (for example, Addison’s Disease) for which specific substitution therapy is essential
- diabetes insipidus and other forms of hypopituitarism
- diabetes mellitus, except where treatment is by diet alone
- hypoparathyroidism
- myasthenia gravis
- myxoedema (that is, hypothyroidism which needs thyroid hormone replacement)
- epilepsy which needs continuous anticonvulsive therapy
- a continuing physical disability which means you cannot go out without the help of another person
- cancer and are undergoing treatment for either:
- cancer
- the effects of cancer
- the effects of cancer treatment
If you're not sure about the name of your condition, speak to your doctor.
If you think you may be eligible, speak to your GP or doctor who will give you an application form.
Find out more: https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/check-if-you-have-nhs-exemption/medical-exemption-certificates
NHS prepayment certificates
If you’re not eligible for free prescriptions, and you pay for 12 or more prescriptions in a year, you could save money with a NHS prepayment certificate. This means you pay a set price, no matter how many prescriptions you need.
A single prescription currently costs £9.35, but a prepayment certificate costs £108.10. You can pay this in one instalment or pay by direct debit in 10 instalments of £10.81 a month. So, if you usually pay for two prescriptions a month, you’ll be saving money with a prepayment certificate.
You can buy these online, in pharmacies or over the telephone. Find out more: Buy an NHS Prescription Prepayment Certificate (nhsbsa.nhs.uk)
If you’re married or in a civil partnership, and one of you is a non-taxpayer and the other pays tax at the basic 20% rate, you qualify for the marriage tax allowance. This can save you £252 in 2022/23, but you can also backdate it for four full years. This could be worth over £900.
Find out more: Apply for Marriage Allowance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
If you wear a uniform at work and have to wash, repair or replace it yourself, you may be able to get a tax rebate to help with the costs.
You can reclaim tax if it's just a branded t-shirt or if you're a fully uniformed pilot, police officer or nurse. You may have seen firms offering to help you do this, but there's no need to pay them - it's easy to do it yourself.
You can also backdate your claim for up to five years.
Are you eligible for a uniform tax rebate?
To be eligible, all of the following must apply:
- You wear a recognisable uniform that shows you have a certain job, such as a branded t-shirt, nurse or police uniform. A simple test would be if you were out and about wearing your work uniform, would a member of the public recognise your employer because of logos or a company name on your uniform?
- Your employer requires you to wear it while you're working, meaning you have no other option but to wear it.
- You have to purchase, clean, repair or replace it yourself. You can't claim if your employer washes your kit, provides facilities to do so, or pays you for maintaining the uniform.
- You paid income tax in the year you're claiming for.
How do I make a claim?
If it's your first time claiming a tax allowance, you'll need to fill in a form and claim online or by post. Find out more here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-income-tax-relief-for-your-employment-expenses-p87
If you've claimed before, then usually your tax code will be adjusted going forward to take account of your costs so you don't need to apply again. If this doesn't happen, you can call HMRC on 0300 200 3310, 8am - 8pm Monday - Friday, or 8am - 4pm on Saturday.