Rights for Employees

Depending on your age, you must be paid a minimum amount of money per hour. From April 2021, this was separated into the National Living Wage and the National Minimum Wage. The amount differs for apprentices.

When you are paid, deductions will be taken from your overall pay, such as income tax, national insurance tax, or student loan repayments.

Employers can only make a deduction from pay if:

• your contract specifically allows the deduction
• it was agreed in writing with you beforehand
• they overpaid you by mistake
• it’s required by law, for example income tax or a court order
• you missed work because you were on strike or taking industrial action

Your employer should tell you if they're about to make a deduction from your pay. If you think your employer has unfairly kept some money from you, you should speak to your employer about it immediately.

Other deductions taken from your wages need to be agreed in advance with your employer. For example, you may choose to take part in a company pension scheme or give up part of your wage to buy shares or share options.

You cannot be asked to work, on average, for more than 48 hours a week. However, this can be different depending on the nature of the work you carry out or if you have agreed to opt out of this limit.

You have the right to one unpaid, uninterrupted 20-minute rest break at any point in the day, if you work more than 6 hours a day. Visit the government’s website for more details regarding rest breaks at work. If you are pregnant, your entitlement to rest may differ so please explore your rights at work during pregnancy.

Employees are entitled to 5.6 weeks paid annual leave; if you work a 5-day week, you are entitled to 28 days leave per annum. This is calculated pro-rata if you work part-time. You can find out more about holiday entitlement and use the entitlement calculator to find out your entitlement.

Employers can also include bank holidays in this total. This would be outlined in your employment contract, if you have one. Find out more about the UK bank holiday calendar.

PAYE is the HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) system to collect Income Tax and National Insurance (NI) from employment. These payments are determined by your earnings.

To calculate how much tax you should be paying, use this calculator.

To see the amount of NI that you should be paying, use this calculator.

If you think that you may be paying the wrong amount of tax or NI, contact the HMRC helpline on: 0300 200 3300 (Monday to Friday, 8am-6pm) or visit HMRC: online-services.

All employers must provide a workplace pension scheme. This is called ‘automatic enrolment’.

Your employer must automatically enrol you into a pension scheme and make contributions to your pension if all of the following apply:

• you’re classed as a worker
• you’re aged between 22 and State Pension age
• you earn at least £10,000 per year
• you usually work in the UK

From April 2019, the minimum workplace pension contribution is 8%. This includes 3% of your gross wage from your employer and 5% of your gross wage, which will be deducted from your wages.

Employers may offer different pension schemes which will be outlined in your employee handbook, if you have one. For more information, please visit: Workplace Pensions.

If you have been made redundant from a job you have worked in for 2 years or more, you are entitled to at least statutory redundancy pay. However, your employer may have a policy to pay above the statutory minimum. This is called contractual redundancy pay and will be outlined in your employee handbook, if you have one. If unsure, speak to your employer.

The statutory amount you are entitled to is age dependent. Find more information.

What if I do not have a written contract?

If you don’t have a written contract, you should ask your employer for one. You have a legal right to receive this. Nonetheless, the contract between employer and employee still exists whether verbal or in writing, and the absence of a written contract does not affect your statutory employment rights.

The law protects people from direct and indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation at work. Employers must put measures in place to avoid unfair treatment and unequal pay on the basis of ‘protected characteristics’. Protected characteristics are your:

• Age
• Disability
• Gender reassignment
• Marriage and civil partnership
• Pregnancy and maternity
• Race (including colour, nationality, ethnic and national origin)
• Religion or belief
• Sex
• Sexual orientation

Find more information about discrimination and your rights. If you believe that you have been discriminated against at work, please refer to ACAS’ guidance and advice service for further help.

A whistleblower is someone who has reported a wrongdoing at work. The wrongdoing must affect a lot of people, such as the general public, and the report must be made in the interest of the public.

Whistleblowers are protected from being unfairly treated or dismissed.

A list of example wrongdoings can be found on the government’s website, along with practical advice on who should be informed of the wrongdoing and what to do if you have been treated unfairly for being a whistleblower.

If you are unwell and cannot work, you may be entitled to be paid £96.35 per week for up to 28 weeks (as at April 2021). This is called Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). Check your eligibility.

Your employer may offer to pay you more than the statutory minimum and this is called contractual sick pay. This information should be in your employment contract, if you have one.

You may be entitled to SSP if you cannot work because of COVID-19. You may be required to prove you are self-isolating because of coronavirus. Visit here for more information on eligibility.

If you’re self-isolating and cannot work because of COVID-19, you can get an https://111.nhs.uk/isolation-note/ online from NHS 111 if you’re off work for 7 or more days. You do not have to go to your doctor or a hospital.

If your sick pay has run out, ACAS has guidance on what you can do.

When dealing with an emergency involving someone you care for, you can take time off work and may even be eligible for pay. How much you may get is dependent on the extent and type of emergency.

You may be able to take time off and receive pay for a period of bereavement. The length or amount you get is dependent on your relationship to the person who died.

If you are required to take part in any public services, such as jury service, you will be entitled to leave. Your employer does not have to pay you during this time. Find out more information.

If your work involves certain public duties, you will qualify for time off in addition to your normal holiday entitlement.

If you believe that you have been unfairly treated as a result of taking time off, there are options available to you.

Eligible employees have the right to request flexible working arrangements. To be eligible you must have worked for your employer for at least 26 weeks.

There are different types of flexible working, such as part-time, working from home, job-sharing and compressed, annualised or staggered hours.

The government’s website provides practical steps which you can take if your flexible working request has been refused but there is no statutory right to appeal the decision.

By law, the maximum amount of maternity leave you are entitled to is 52 weeks. This is called statutory maternity leave.

During this time, you may be entitled to statutory maternity pay, for which there are certain requirements. If you do not meet these requirements, you may be eligible to claim maternity allowance. For more details about statutory maternity leave and pay and how to claim, please visit: Maternity Pay and Leave.

Alternatively, your employer may have a policy which offers more generous pay so you should find out from your employer if that is available and if it applies to you.

You may be eligible for statutory paternity leave and pay for 1 to 2 weeks if you are:

• the father, the husband or the partner of the mother
• the child’s adopted parent
• the intended parent if you’re having a baby through a surrogacy arrangement

For more information relating to your eligibility and how to claim, visit: Paternity Pay and Leave.

If you are taking time off work because you are adopting a child or taking care of a child through a surrogacy arrangement, you may be eligible for statutory adoption leave for a maximum of 52 weeks.

You may be eligible for statutory adoption pay calculated at 90% of your average weekly earnings for the first 6 weeks and £151.97 or 90% of your average weekly earnings (whichever is lower) for the remaining 33 weeks (as at April 2021).

For more information on the eligibility criteria and how to claim, please visit: Adoption Pay and Leave.

If you and your partner are having a baby, using a surrogate to have a baby, or adopting a child, you may be eligible for Shared Parental Pay and Leave. You can share the statutory leave of up to 50 weeks and statutory pay of up to 37 weeks. You choose how to share this time and pay.

There are different eligibility criteria for birth parents and adoptive parents.

We’ve compiled a list of advice centres in London to help you find out where to get help.

The following services can also provide general advice on employment rights:

• Law Centres (national) – find out if you have a local free legal advice centre
• Citizens Advice – find your nearest Citizens Advice
• ACAS (the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service)

The following services can also offer free employment law advice:

• Work Rights Centre (which can provide advice in various European languages, including Bulgarian, Italian, Polish, Romanian, Russian and Spanish)
• Nucleus Legal Advice Centre (the initial call is free, charges may apply to subsequent services)
• ELTAL (BPP University’s Employment Law Telephone Advice Line. This service is not limited to London postcodes)

Visit our Employment Rights Hub for more information. We've created a map of advice centres in London to help you find out where you can visit someone to get help. We've also provided their details in a list. Lots of them also give advice over the telephone or via email.