Employment Laws – Terms and Conditions

Any entrepreneur or person in human resources needs to fully understand employment laws.  There are terms and conditions one must follow in order to lessen any claims an employee has against a company for unfair practises.  There are national laws, though some are changing, that a company must adhere to.  In order to avoid breaching the UK regulations as it pertains to employee and employer relationships, one must keep updated with the changes the new government is making.  Below is information regarding pay, minimum wage, sickness, time off/ holidays, and working hours one needs to be aware of. 

Pay:

According to the terms and conditions of UK employment laws, employees must get a pay statement from their employer.  They must also be told when and how they will get payment including such things as sick, holiday, and time off pay.  Any performance related payment must also be part of the terms and conditions an employer offers. 

Minimum Wage:

There is a national minimum wage (NMW) a company must offer.  This rate means no employee can make lower than that wage no matter where they work.  For workers over 22 years of age a company must pay out £5.80 per hour.  A person 18 to 21 must make at least £4.83 per hour.  Individuals 16 to 17 must make £3.57 per hour.  However, these current rates will be changed in October 2010.  The new rates will be £5.93, £4.92, and £3.64 per hour, respectively. 

Sick Time:

According to employment laws there are two types of sick pay: company and statutory.  An employer can have a company programme, which means a worker is paid as stated in the employment contract the person signed.  Statutory payment is based on a company without a policy, in which you are still entitled to payment if you are sick under the SSP.

Holiday/ Time Off:

The basic regulations state all labourers are entitled to time off with a minimum of 5.6 weeks paid leave throughout the year.  However, an employer can decide to offer more time off in a year. 

Working Hours:

There are also rights workers have regarding working hours.  A full time employee cannot work more than 48 hours on average in a week, over a 17 week period.  In other words an employer could have you work 48 hours in a 16 week stretch, but not 17 weeks under the current employment laws.