10 Must-Know Employment Law Facts

Employment Law covers many different aspects of employer responsibilities and employee rights, including contracts of employment, hours of work, Statutory Sick Pay and dismissal. Your employer should comply with employment law else they are at risk of employment tribunal claims. Let’s take a look at 20 key facts about employment law, that your employer should be abiding by:

1. Your employer must register with HMRC (HM Revenue & Customs) before their first pay day when taking on their first employee. A payroll must be run and employees should be issues payslips outlining earning before and after deductions and include all detail of Tax and National Insurance. Payroll information must be reported to HMRC every time an employee is paid and they must pay any tax and National Insurance owing.
2. An employer must ensure that all employees have the legal right to work in the UK and keep copies of all provided documents, before they start working.
3. Within a two month period of starting work, employees are entitled to a written statement of employment terms, however if you are employed for less than one month you are not entitled to such.
4. The terms of an employment contract can only be changed by an employer if they have reserved the right to do so or the employee has given agreement or consent. Any alterations to the contract must be agreed by both parties with written confirmation within one month of the change taking effect.
5. A contract of employment exists once a potential employee has accepted an unconditional offer of employment, which is often before they have commenced employment
6. A probationary period of three to six months is typical, with the period being long enough for an employer to reasonably judge whether an employee can do the job.
7. Minimum wage applies to almost all employees, whether casual, part-time, full-time or agency workers. Workers aged 25 and over are entitled to the National Living Wage, which is £7.83 per hour. There are also four different hourly rates for National Minimum Wage, which are: £7.38 for workers aged 21 to 25, £5.90 an hour for 18 to 21-year-olds, £4.20 per hour for 16 and 17-year-olds, £3.70 for apprentices under 19 or older than 19 but in the first year of their apprenticeship.
8. You are entitled to 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday per year as an employee (at least 28 days a year for a full time employee). Part-time employees are entitled to the same holiday, but on a pro rata basis. Holiday entitlement begins to accrue from the first day of employment and accrues even through periods of absence such as sick leave or maternity.
9. SSP (statutory sick pay) is £92.05 per week but it isn’t uncommon for an employer to pay more than this amount. If an employer believes you are not genuinely ill or you do not comply with notification requirements, they are entitled to refuse to pay SSP.
10. Employees must be ‘auto-enrolled’ into a workplace pension and an employer must also contribute unless an Employee specifically opts-out of the scheme.