Pocket money for a 12 year old in Ireland
Twelve is when the payslip grows up: the first deduction appears, and the rate is now real money by any measure.
A 12 year old in Ireland earns
€7.43an hour
About €29.72 a week if they do 4 hours of paid jobs. That's 52.5% of the minimum wage in Ireland.
Worked out from Workplace Relations Commission — National Minimum Wage, rates from 1 January 2026.
The rate at every age in Ireland.
Pocket Wage is a straight line, one step every birthday, until it meets the real minimum wage. Here's the whole ladder in Ireland.
- Pocket wage, paid by you
- Real minimum wage, paid by a boss
At 16, the legal minimum in Ireland is €9.91 an hour. Pocket Wage draws a straight line from there back to zero, and a kid's age picks the spot on it.
What a 12 year old can do, and what it pays.
Every paid job has a standard time: how long it should take, not how long it did. Dawdle and you earn less a minute. Get good at it and you earn more. There's no timer to game and no price to haggle.
Twelve year olds can run most household jobs end to end: the weekly shop with a list, dinner two nights a week, the lawn and edges, the whole bathroom and kitchen clean. Hour-long jobs on a weekend are normal. They are also capable of managing a small budget, which is why this is the year the locked savings slice starts.
Set the slice together. Ten percent of each payslip, locked until a date they choose, at an interest rate you set. The first time the locked balance passes what they have in their pocket is a moment most families remember.
The payslip at 12
Jobs, pay, interest, a locked savings deduction, and the balance in two parts: spendable and locked. Twelve is the first payslip that looks like a payslip.
The Jobs Board at age 12, €7.43 an hour
| Job | Standard time | Pays |
|---|---|---|
| Do the weekly shop from a list | 1 hr | €7.43 |
| Cook dinner two nights a week | 45 min | €5.57 |
| Mow the lawn and do the edges | 1 hr | €7.43 |
| Deep clean the kitchen | 40 min | €4.95 |
Example jobs and times. Family Duties, like clearing your own plate, are unpaid: belonging isn't billable.
How junior wages work in Ireland.
Ireland's national minimum wage is set by the government each January on the advice of the Low Pay Commission. Workers under 18 are entitled to 70% of the adult rate, 18 year olds to 80%, and 19 year olds to 90%, with the full rate at 20.
Pocket Wage anchors on the under-18 rate at sixteen and draws a straight line back to zero. From sixteen the site shows the real statutory rates. When the rate changes each January, every age on this site moves with it.
Children can do light work from 14 during school holidays and from 15 in term time, with limits on hours. The under-18 minimum wage applies to any employed young person.
Source: Workplace Relations Commission — National Minimum Wage, rates from 1 January 2026.
Questions parents ask about 12 year olds.
How much pocket money should a twelve year old get?
Enough that a deduction means something. At the rate for a twelve year old and about four hours of jobs a week, the weekly figure on this page is where to start, with a slice of it locked away.
Why lock part of their money away?
Because at twelve they can understand delayed reward, and a locked balance that grows with interest teaches saving better than any lecture. They chose the date; the money is still theirs.
What jobs are worth paying a twelve year old for?
Anything you would otherwise do yourself: the shop, dinner, the lawn, a proper clean. Price each by the time it should take at their rate, and let them beat it.
What is the minimum wage for a 16 year old in Ireland?
70% of the adult national minimum wage, the rate for anyone under 18. It is shown on our 16 year old page from the official source, and it is the anchor for every younger age here.
Every birthday is a pay rise.
The app runs the whole thing: the Jobs Board, the standard times, a sacred weekly payday with a payslip, and Pay-Rise Day on every birthday. No cards, no stored money. The parent is the bank.