Funded ELC staff must be paid at least £13.45 an hour
The sustainable rates guidance sets the minimum for staff delivering funded early learning and childcare in private and third sector settings.
What to do now
- Check the hourly rate of everyone who delivers funded ELC, including bank staff.
- Keep the rate written into each contract.
- Ask your council how the rate feeds into the funded hours rate it pays you.
Staff delivering funded early learning and childcare (ELC) in private and third sector settings in Scotland must be paid at least £13.45 an hour from April 2026.
The rate was set out in a letter from the Minister to the Scottish Parliament's education committee on 16 March 2026, alongside the sustainable rates guidance.
Plain guide: 1140 hours in Scotland
Over the border: Does this apply in England?. No. This is a Scottish rule for funded ELC. In England, the national minimum wage applies. News for England
Official sources
How this story was made. This story was written with help from AI from the official sources below, then checked and approved by the Hubba Training team before it went live.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Open Government Licence.
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