Hire in United Kingdom

The terms of the employment contract may not provide for lesser conditions than any minimum legal entitlements established in employment legislation.

Employment contracts often state the employee will be subject to a trial or probationary period at the start of their employment, during which the employer can take the opportunity to assess the employee’s suitability for the role. While the exact terms of the trial period will be governed by the employment contract, it will typically last three months. The maximum period (including any extension) is six months. During the probationary period, the employee may not be entitled to certain benefits.

Workers’ hours of work are regulated by the Working Time Regulations 1998 (“WTR”). Workers may not work, on average, for more than 48 hours per week (normally calculated over a 17-week reference period). In the UK employers can ask workers to consent, in writing, to opt-out of the 48- hour weekly working limit. However, workers must have the right to cancel their opt-out by up to three months’ notice at any time. The WTR also states an employee’s right to daily, weekly and in-work rest periods. A typical standard white-collar working week will be 37.5 hours.

If employers may want to require their employees to work longer than their normal working hours, they should ensure the employment contract provides for this with an overtime clause. This clause should clarify whether or not the overtime will be paid. Typically overtime rates are 1.5 times the basic rate for weekdays and two times the basic rate for weekends and public holidays.

The European Court of Justice stated in 2019 that companies must implement an objective, reliable and accessible system that allows recording of the daily workday performed by each employee.

Bonus schemes are common and can be either guaranteed under contract or discretionary. Many schemes are a mixture of both, which means that while you have the right to be considered for a bonus, the employer has the final say as to whether to pay out or not. However, employers should take care when exercising the discretionary element of any bonus.

Employees in the UK are entitled to a period of notice to bring the contract to an end unless they have committed an act of gross misconduct. If the employee has not committed an act of gross misconduct the contract will continue until it is brought to an end in accordance with its terms (normally either by giving the required notice or making a payment in lieu of notice if this is provided for in the contract).

For employees without unfair dismissal rights (less than two years’ service) employers can dismiss without a fair reason so long as they do not dismiss on the basis of a discriminatory or automatically unfair reason and they comply with the terms of the contract of employment. It is automatically unfair to dismiss an employee for a wide variety of reasons. This includes dismissing an employee because they have ”blown the whistle” about corporate malpractice, taken advantage of statutory rights to maternity, paternity or parental leave or exercised their right to join or participate in trade union activity (among other things).

Once an employee has two years’ service, they will have rights against unfair dismissal rights and the employer may only dismiss for one of five prescribed legitimate and fair reasons. A fair procedure must also be followed, or the dismissal will be unfair.

Legitimate (fair) reasons to dismiss an employee:

• misconduct
• capability or qualifications
• redundancy
• application of a statutory restriction (for example the employee no longer has a right to work in the UK)
• for “some other substantial reason” (“SOSR”)

SOSR is often, for example, because an employee has refused to agree to a variation in terms and conditions of employment. The courts in the UK apply a narrow interpretation as to whether an employer’s reason constitutes “SOSR”.

An employee enjoys the statutory right to receive a minimum period of notice from the employer once they have been employed for a month, as follows:

• At least one week’s notice (if employed from one month up to two years)
• One week’s notice for each year of employment between two and up to a maximum 12 years.

Except for redundancy dismissals (in which case, the eligible employee will be entitled to a statutory redundancy payment), there is no statutory entitlement to a severance payment as such. An employee is entitled to notice. It is also common for employees to be paid a sum in lieu of notice, usually equal to the value of pay over the notice period.

A restrictive covenant is a clause intended to protect an employer’s business by restricting the activities of its employees. These are generally enforced once the employment relationship has ended.

Types of Restrictive Covenants:

• Non-compete: This restricts an employee’s ability to work for certain competitors or carry on a competing business for a certain period of time after termination.
• Non-solicitation of customers: This prohibits an employee from soliciting certain clients or customers of their former employer for a certain period of time after termination.
• Non-solicitation of employees: This prohibits an employee from soliciting certain employees of their former employer for a certain period of time after termination.
• Non-dealing: This prohibits an employee from doing business with certain clients or customers of their former employer for a certain period of time after termination.

Restrictive covenants are not automatically valid and enforceable simply because they have been incorporated into a contract of employment. In fact, there is a presumption that restrictive covenants are automatically void for being in restraint of trade and contrary to public policy, unless the employer can show both of the following:

• The employer has a legitimate proprietary interest that is appropriate to protect with the restrictive covenant.
• The protection sought is no more than reasonable having regard to the interests of the parties and the public interest.

Fixed-term workers may be contracted to work for a fixed period only or to perform a particular task with the contract terminating at the end of this period or on the completion of the task. Examples are those who are employed specifically to cover for maternity, parental or paternity leave; employees who perform seasonal or casual work (such as agricultural workers and shop assistants amid busy periods); employees hired to cover unusual peaks in demand as in the tourist industry; and employees whose contracts will end on the completion of a specific task such as installing a computer system. There is no requirement for fixed-term contracts to specify the reason why it has been concluded for a fixed-term, although a job title should be included in the contract. This is done to comply with the employer’s statutory requirements on the written statement of particular conditions of employment.

The regulations say that where an employee has been continuously employed on successive fixed-term contracts for four years or more (from July 10, 2002), he or she will automatically receive permanent status.

Salary payments are normally paid monthly on the last day of the month or a few days before that.

By law, employers must provide employees with a payslip. The payslip must, at a minimum, show:

• Earnings before and after any deductions
• The amount of any deductions that may change each time the employee is paid (e.g. tax and national insurance)
• The number of hours worked (if the pay varies depending on time worked)

Employers must also explain any deductions fixed in amount, for example repayment of a season ticket loan. They can elect to do this either on a payslip or through a separate written statement.

Employees are entitled to a statutory minimum of 5.6 weeks paid annual leave per annum. This holiday entitlement can include public holidays, of which there are currently eight in England and Wales (20 working days + 8 public holidays). In practice employers often offer more than the statutory minimum of 20 days, with 25 or 30 days being quite common.

The statutory minimum of 20 days must be used in the holiday year. Otherwise, they will be lost except under exceptional circumstances such as long-term sickness, pregnancy or maternity leave etc. Other unused contractual paid leave may be carried over but only with the employer’s agreement and approval.

• Employees who are sick for at least four consecutive days (including weekends and public holidays) are entitled to sick leave, which is subject to certain conditions. They will receive statutory sick pay (SSP). The standard weekly rate of SSP is currently £109.40.
• Many employers offer enhanced rates of sick pay (company sick pay), typically paying full salary for the first two to three weeks at least.

Unpaid Parental Leave: Eligible employees are entitled to 18 weeks’ unpaid parental leave to care for a child under eighteen. An employee can normally take only four weeks’ parental leave in any one leave year. For short periods of leave ,due to child sickness, many employers offer formal or informal arrangements for paid leave.

• An employee has the right to time off for a funeral if the person who died was a dependent. This includes, for example, their partner or parent. There’s no legal right for this period of time off to be compensated. However, most employers will offer some period of unpaid leave.
• There is no legal right to time off in the case of bereavement of other non-dependant family members. However, regardless of whether an employee has a right to time off, employers are encouraged to be compassionate towards a person’s individual situation.

Maternity Leave

• Pregnant employees/new mothers are entitled to up to 52 weeks’ maternity leave. An employee’s usual terms and conditions of employment will continue throughout the period of maternity leave however salary is replaced by statutory maternity pay, which amounts to 90% of basic salary for the first six weeks of leave and £172.48 per week (or 90% of average weekly earnings, if less), for a further 33 weeks. Many employers offer enhanced rates of pay during some or all of the maternity leave period (company maternity pay).
• A woman returning to work from leave generally has the right to return to the job in which she was employed before her absence, subject to the duration of her maternity leave.

Paternity Leave

Paternity leave is available to employees with 26 weeks’ continuous service. Eligible fathers are entitled to take one or two weeks’ paternity leave, which is payable at the rate of £172.48 per week or 90% of average weekly earnings, if less. Again, many employers pay paternity pay at an enhanced rate (company paternity pay).

Shared Parental Leave

Shared parental leave is a flexible system of parental leave that allows mothers to commit to end their maternity leave or pay early. The balance of the maternity leave and pay period is available for either parent to take as shared parental leave. The leave must be taken in the first twelve months of a child’s life but does not have to be taken as a single continuous period. Both parents can be on leave at the same time if they wish.

Adoption Leave

Up to 52 weeks’ adoption leave is available to one member of an adopting couple. Adoption pay is paid at the same rates as statutory maternity pay. Adoptive parents can opt in to the shared parental leave system if the parent taking adoption leave elects to end their period of leave early.

Employees are entitled to three days of paid leave for the following family events:

• Marriage of the employee
• Birth of the employee’s child
• Circumcision of the employee’s child
• Marriage of the employee’s descendant
• Death of the employee’s immediate family member or blood relative
• Death of employee’s spouse

Once in their entire professional life, an employee is allowed to take 30 days’ paid leave to perform Hajj.

England and Wales have eight annual public holidays. Scotland and Northern Ireland may additionally have local public holidays. Days are observed on that calendar day and if falling on a weekend.