Weekly, fortnightly or monthly: choosing a payroll frequency

You can pay employees weekly, fortnightly, four-weekly or monthly; UK law leaves the choice to the employer. Monthly is the cheapest to run and the most common for salaried staff, while weekly suits hourly and shift workers who need cash flow. Whatever you pick, HMRC’s reporting, threshold and minimum wage rules all follow the pay period you choose.

Is there a legal rule on how often to pay staff?

No. GOV.UK sets no required pay frequency. The written statement of employment particulars must say “how much and how often” each worker is paid, and you must stick to it.

Two rules apply to every frequency. You must give a payslip “on or before payday”, according to GOV.UK’s payslip guidance. You must also send HMRC a Full Payment Submission (FPS) “on or before your employees’ payday”, says HMRC’s reporting guidance. See Real Time Information for how the FPS works.

Payroll frequencies compared

The four options HMRC’s tables support differ mainly in how many runs you process each year.

Each run means an FPS, payslips and, if you auto-enrol staff, a pension contribution upload. Moving from monthly to weekly roughly quadruples that work and any per-run fees your bureau or software charges.

How do the 2026/27 thresholds work per period?

PAYE and National Insurance are worked out for each pay period, so the thresholds are split to match. HMRC’s rates and thresholds for 2026 to 2027 (updated 1 September 2026) give these figures.

Because National Insurance is not cumulative for most employees, timing matters. A weekly-paid worker who earns £200 one week and £400 the next pays employee National Insurance only in the second week. The same £600 paid monthly would fall below the £1,048 monthly threshold. Use the employer cost calculator to compare.

What is week 53?

Week 53 is the extra payday that arises because a tax year has 365 or 366 days, one or two more than 52 weeks. HMRC’s CWG2 guide (section 1.13) says weekly-paid staff “will have 53 weekly paydays instead of the usual 52” in those years. Fortnightly payrolls report the extra payday as week 54, and four-weekly payrolls as week 56.

The 2026/27 tax year began on Monday 6 April 2026 and ends on Monday 5 April 2027. A weekly payroll with a Monday payday therefore has a week 53 on 5 April 2027. The extra payment gets its own tax-free pay, which can leave some employees with a small underpayment that HMRC collects later. CWG2 says “do not change the final tax code to week 1” just because week 1 tables were used for the week 53 calculation.

Monthly payrolls never have a week 53. That is one reason many employers prefer them.

How does frequency affect the minimum wage?

Frequency sets the minimum wage test period. HMRC’s manual NMWM09020 says “a pay reference period can never be longer than one calendar month”, and where you pay by reference to a shorter period, that shorter period applies.

So weekly-paid staff must average at least the National Living Wage of £12.71 an hour (from April 2026, for workers aged 21 and over) in every single week. You cannot top up a short week from the next one. The rate rises to £13.21 from April 2027. Our guide to the National Minimum Wage 2026 covers all age bands.

Which frequency suits you?

• If your staff are salaried on fixed pay, monthly keeps admin and cost lowest.
• If you pay by the hour with varying shifts, weekly or fortnightly pay tracks hours closely and helps workers on tight budgets.
• If your rotas run on 28-day cycles, four-weekly pay lines up with them, but gives 13 paydays rather than 12.
• If you are a director paying yourself only, monthly or annual pay is usual; directors have special National Insurance rules in HMRC’s CA44.
• If you have mixed staff, you can run separate weekly and monthly payrolls under one PAYE scheme, though each needs its own runs.

How to change payroll frequency

Changing frequency is allowed, but follow HMRC’s steps so tax and National Insurance stay correct.

1. Agree the change with staff and update their written statements; check employment contracts first.
2. Give enough notice and consider an advance or bridging payment, as moving from weekly to monthly can leave a gap of several weeks.
3. Change the pay frequency in your payroll software from the first payment after the change.
4. Work out National Insurance on the new earnings period. CWG2 (section 1.10) says that when moving to a longer interval, total contributions “must not exceed” what would have been due on the combined payments.
5. Use the monthly PAYE table from the first payment after a switch to monthly pay.
6. Report the new payday on the next FPS.

Our payroll process steps and setting up PAYE guides explain the rest of the cycle.

Frequently asked questions

What is the most common payroll frequency in the UK?

Monthly pay is the usual choice for salaried staff, and weekly pay is common for hourly and shift workers. We could not find an official HMRC breakdown of how many employers use each.

Do I have to send an FPS every week if I pay weekly?

Yes. You send an FPS on or before each payday, whatever the frequency.

Does paying weekly cost employers more National Insurance?

It can change the amount. National Insurance is worked out per pay period, so uneven weekly pay can create contributions that would not arise on the same total paid monthly.

Will my payroll have a week 53 in 2026/27?

Only if you pay weekly on a Monday, or on a fortnightly or four-weekly cycle whose paydays fall on 5 April 2027. Monthly payrolls are not affected.

Can I pay HMRC quarterly instead of monthly?

Quarterly payment is possible; GOV.UK says it is due by the 22nd after the end of the quarter, such as 22 July for 6 April to 5 July. Pay frequency and HMRC payment frequency are separate, and you still send an FPS on or before every payday.