Nigeria’s New 70,000 Minimum Wage and Global Compliance Shifts
The HR manager stared at the spreadsheet, then at the WhatsApp message from the CEO.
“Please just update basic salary to ₦70,000 for those below minimum wage and send payroll tonight. We can’t delay salaries again.”
On the surface, it sounded simple: change one number and move on. In reality, that single change touched PAYE, pension, NSITF, NHF, overtime rates, transport allowances, and even salary structures for higher bands. And this was just the Nigerian side of the business.
On another screen, she had a UK payroll dashboard open. From April, employer National Insurance rates were changing, thresholds were moving, and minimum/living wage rates were rising again. The UK pharmacy arm of the group would see its staffing costs jump sharply, while Nigerian operations were still figuring out how to absorb the new ₦70,000 national minimum wage.
Payroll is risk management, compliance, cash-flow planning and employee trust.
This is the new reality for HR and payroll teams operating in Nigeria alone, or across Nigeria and the UK together. The combination of Nigeria’s National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act 2024 and ongoing UK payroll and compliance changes is reshaping how HR leaders think about pay, compliance, and the systems they rely on.
Let’s unpack what changed, why it matters, and how you can navigate it without losing your mind (or your licence).
What changed in Nigeria: the ₦70,000 minimum wage, simply explained
In 2019, Nigeria set a national minimum wage of ₦30,000 per month. That law has now been formally updated. In July 2024, President Bola Tinubu signed the National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act 2024, increasing the federal minimum wage to ₦70,000 per month.
Legal and policy analyses highlight a few important details that HR teams cannot afford to miss:
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The new rate is ₦70,000 per month for eligible workers, up from ₦30,000.
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The law states that the new rate takes effect from 1 May 2024, even though it was passed later in July. This implies that employers who were paying below ₦70,000 must calculate arrears for affected staff backdated to May.
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The amended Act shortens the review cycle: instead of every five years, the minimum wage now expires after three years and must be reviewed again, with some commentaries noting further tweaks that can make reviews even more frequent.
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Not every employer is covered. Employers with fewer than 25 workers are exempt under the principal Act, and certain categories of workers are excluded. Fact-checkers have had to clarify this after some public statements suggested it applied to all and sundry.
Additional guidance from compensation and HR specialists points out that employers must also align related obligations, such as transport allowances and benefits, with the spirit of the law.
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has also issued a circular, reminding employers that pensionable earnings and contributions must reflect the new minimum wage, reinforcing that ₦70,000 is the new floor for computing contributions where applicable.
So for HR and payroll teams, this happens to be a structural shift with ripple effects.
What the new minimum wage really means for Hr & payroll teams
Once you zoom in from the legal text to day-to-day payroll in Nigeria, the ripple effects become clear.
First, there is pay structure. Many organisations in Nigeria structure salaries as basic + housing + transport + other allowances. If basic pay was previously lower than ₦70,000, HR must decide whether the entire gross goes up, or whether they adjust components so that total pay stays similar but basic meets the minimum. That decision affects taxable income, PAYE, and pension contributions.
Secondly, there is pay compression. When you increase the lowest salaries to ₦70,000, employees slightly above that level may suddenly feel underpaid. For example, a staff member earning ₦75,000 may feel unfairly close to entry-level colleagues now paid ₦70,000. Legal commentators warn that while the Act sets a floor, companies must carefully manage internal equity if they want to avoid morale problems and turnover.
Third, you have arrears management. Because the new wage took effect from May 1, 2024, but became law in July, compliant employers are expected to calculate and pay the difference between what staff were paid and what they should have earned under the new rate, covering those earlier months. That requires clean payroll data and careful communication with staff.
Fourth, there’s the impact on statutory deductions:
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PAYE (Pay-As-You-Earn) calculations will change as taxable income rises.
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Pension contributions must be recalculated based on the higher minimum wage (for employees within the Contributory Pension Scheme).
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Other statutory funds like NHF and NSITF may also be affected depending on how your organisation defines pensionable and contributory earnings.
Fifth, companies operating on thin margins, especially SMEs with more than 25 employees, need to reassess labour costs, pricing, and headcount plans. A Bloomfield Law client alert notes that the new minimum wage will apply for three years and must be budgeted for carefully, including any arrears and the effect on future reviews.
Finally, there are record-keeping and audit implications. With more frequent reviews baked into the Act, Nigeria is moving toward a more dynamic minimum wage regime. Companies that rely on manual spreadsheets and ad-hoc adjustments will find it increasingly hard to demonstrate compliance if audited, or if disputes arise.
This is why payroll automation in Nigeria, robust HR policies, and a clear audit trail are not features but essential risk controls.
Beyond Nigeria: UK payroll changes that matter if you pay staff there
For businesses that straddle Nigeria and the UK, like many of HrPayHub’s customers, the story doesn’t stop at ₦70,000. Your UK entity or UK-based employees are facing their own wave of payroll and compliance changes.
From April 2024, the UK’s 2024/25 tax year brought a mix of:
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Frozen Income Tax thresholds, which quietly push more income into higher tax bands over time.
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Reduced employee National Insurance (NI) rates, but stable (for now) employer NI rates at 13.8% for 2024/25.
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Higher National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage, increasing hourly pay for lower-paid staff.
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Statutory payments such as maternity pay and sick pay rising by around 6.7%, requiring payroll updates.
Then comes the next wave: from April 2025 (the 2025/26 tax year), employers in the UK face higher National Insurance costs. Analysis from payroll providers and business media shows that:
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The employer NI rate is set to rise from 13.8% to 15%, and
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The salary threshold at which employers start paying NI contributions is expected to fall from £9,100 to around £5,000 per year, pulling more low-paid roles into the NI net.
Large retailers and employer groups are already warning that this combination; higher minimum wages plus higher employer NI, could push up staffing costs by billions of pounds and accelerate job cuts, particularly in retail and hospitality.
For HR and payroll teams managing a UK branch or UK pharmacy, that means:
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Updating payroll software to the latest rates and thresholds for Income Tax and NI.
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Adjusting budgets to reflect higher employer contributions and wage floors.
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Reviewing benefits, overtime, and bonus structures to maintain competitiveness without blowing labour-cost budgets.
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Ensuring correct real-time reporting to HMRC to avoid penalties.
Taken together, Nigerian and UK changes create a compliance landscape where HR cannot afford to just wing it anymore.
Payroll under pressure: why these shifts matter so much
Put yourself back in the shoes of that HR manager juggling Nigerian and UK payroll.
On one side, she is recalculating pay for Nigerian staff to meet the new ₦70,000 minimum wage, dealing with arrears, tax recalculations, and staff expectations. On the other side, she is preparing UK payroll for rising employer NICs, higher minimum wages, and frozen tax thresholds that alter net pay and employee perceptions.
Several types of pressure come together:
Financial pressure. Labour costs rise in both markets. If finance and HR don’t plan together, companies risk cash-flow crunches or sudden layoffs.
Compliance pressure. Getting a single minimum wage calculation wrong in Nigeria or ignoring an NI change in the UK can lead to back-pay claims, penalties, or reputational damage. Legal commentary on the Nigerian minimum wage amendment stresses that non-compliance can attract sanctions and legal action from labour regulators and unions.
Operational pressure. HR and payroll teams working with outdated tools must constantly adjust spreadsheets, re-run payslips, and manually track who is affected by what. Every change increases the risk of errors.
People pressure. Pay is emotional. When employees see announcements about new minimum wage in Nigeria and higher National Living Wage in the UK, they expect to see practical changes in their own payslip. Any delay or mistake immediately erodes trust in HR, payroll, and leadership.
It’s no surprise that global research links payroll complexity and constant regulatory change to HR burnout and finance stress. Systems that once worked for a small, simple business break under the weight of multi-country compliance.
The trick is to work differently with better tools, clearer processes, and specialised partners.
Practical steps: how HR can respond without chaos
So what can HR and payroll teams actually do in this environment?
A good starting point is data and segmentation. Identify all Nigerian employees currently below ₦70,000 and model the impact of increasing them to the new minimum wage. Then look at those just above that threshold and consider whether small upward adjustments are needed to preserve pay differentials and morale.
Next, review your salary structure and contracts. Decide whether you will:
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Increase overall gross pay, or
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Restructure components (for example, raising basic while adjusting allowances)
while staying compliant with tax and pension rules. Legal articles on the new Nigerian minimum wage strongly recommend written documentation of any changes, updated contracts where necessary, and clear staff communication.
For arrears, design a clean, auditable method: how much is owed per employee, for which months, and when it will be paid. Some companies split arrears over several months to manage cash flow; others pay lump sums. The key is transparency: staff should see the logic in their payslip.
On the UK side, ensure your payroll setup reflects the correct 22024/25 and 2025/26 rates and thresholds for both Income Tax and employer/employee NI. Use HMRC guides and reputable payroll resources to validate your configuration.
Across both countries, strengthen your documentation and policies:
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A clear pay policy that references applicable minimum wage laws in each jurisdiction.
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Documented processes for updating payroll when laws change.
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Standard operating procedures for handling arrears, back-pay, and corrections.
Critically, move away from heavy reliance on fragile spreadsheets. Modern HR and payroll software for Nigerian businesses and UK operations can automatically apply updated rates, recalculate statutory deductions, and maintain detailed audit trails.
Finally, don’t ignore the communication angle. When laws change, employees will hear about it, on social media, in the news, in unions’ statements. A short, clear communication from HR explaining what’s changed, how it affects them, and when they’ll see changes in their payslip goes a long way in maintaining trust.
This is exactly the type of structured, system-backed approach that cloud platforms like HrPayHub are designed to support.
How HrPayHub is built for this Nigeria–UK compliance moment
If you operate in Nigeria alone, or Nigeria plus the UK, you don’t just need “a payroll system.” You need an engine that understands your specific regulatory environments and can keep up as they shift.
HrPayHub is precisely that kind of platform. According to its official site, HrPayHub is a cloud-based HR, payroll, and accounting solution built specifically for Nigerian businesses and UK pharmacies, developed by DelonApps, with teams in Lagos, Boston, and Liverpool.
HrPayHub can help you:
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Recalculate Nigerian payroll to reflect the new minimum wage, updated PAYE, and pension contributions, across all affected staff.
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Apply UK payroll updates including NI rates, minimum wage changes, and statutory payments for UK staff or pharmacy operations.
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Generate compliant reports and audit trails showing how and when changes were applied, useful in inspections or negotiations with staff and unions.
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Reduce the manual workload on HR and payroll teams, freeing them to focus on strategy, workforce planning, and employee engagement rather than fire-fighting spreadsheets.
In a world where wage laws and tax thresholds are no longer set and forget, relying on manual processes is a risk. Tools like HrPayHub are not just about convenience; they’re about protecting your organisation from errors, penalties, and mistrust.
Conclusion
Nigeria’s new ₦70,000 minimum wage and the evolving landscape of UK payroll compliance are not short-term storms; they are signs of a world where labour laws, tax rules, and pay expectations change more frequently and more visibly than before.
For Hr and payroll teams, this can feel overwhelming. But it is also an opportunity.
Handled well, these changes can become moments where you:
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Demonstrate that your organisation respects the law and values fair pay.
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Strengthen trust with employees by being transparent, timely, and accurate.
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Modernise your Hr and payroll operations, moving from fragile spreadsheets to robust, auditable systems.
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Turn compliance from a constant emergency into a repeatable, well-managed process that supports growth across Nigeria and the UK.
Trying to do all this manually, or with generic software that doesn’t understand Nigerian and UK realities, is a recipe for sleepless nights and costly mistakes.
That’s why HrPayHub exists. As a cloud-based Hr, payroll and accounting platform built for Nigerian businesses and UK pharmacies, HrPayHub helps you stay ahead of minimum wage laws, NI changes, PAYE rules, and pension obligations, without drowning your team in manual work. With flexible packages, automated compliance features, and a design tailored to the Nigeria–UK corridor, HrPayHub lets you focus on people and strategy while it handles the calculations, updates, and reporting.
If your organisation is feeling the pressure of ₦70,000 minimum wage implementation or looming UK NI hikes, now is the moment to upgrade your systems. Visit hrpayhub.com to explore the platform, review pricing, or start a trial, and turn payroll from a source of stress into a strategic advantage.
