Convert an hourly rate into a yearly salary — and, more importantly, into take-home pay after tax and NI for 2026/27. Or work backwards from a salary to the hourly rate it really represents.
Annual salary = hourly rate × hours per week × 52. At £20 an hour for 37.5 hours a week that's 20 × 37.5 × 52 = £39,000. The catch: salaried staff are paid for holidays, while hourly and agency workers often aren't paid for weeks they don't work — if you take 5 weeks unpaid, multiply by 47 instead, and the same £20/hour is really £35,250 of annual earnings.
The figure that matters is take-home: £39,000 gross is about £2,633 a month in your bank after tax and NI (2026/27, before pension). Our tax calculator adds pensions and student loans to the picture.
For reference, the National Living Wage for workers 21 and over is £12.21 an hour (April 2025 rate) — about £23,800 a year at 37.5 hours a week.
Multiply the hourly rate by your hours per week, then by 52. £20/hour × 37.5 hours × 52 weeks = £39,000 a year. If some weeks are unpaid (agency or zero-hours work), use the number of weeks you actually get paid.
£39,000 a year at 37.5 hours a week — roughly £2,633 a month take-home after income tax and National Insurance for 2026/27, before pension contributions.
About £20.51 an hour at 37.5 hours a week (£40,000 ÷ 52 ÷ 37.5). At 40 hours a week it is £19.23 an hour.
Salary usually includes paid holiday, sick pay and pension contributions on top; hourly work can pay a higher headline rate to compensate. Compare take-home pay over a full year — including unpaid weeks — rather than the headline rate.