Before accepting a job you should know how an employment contract works in the UK .
If you work for at least one month continuously you are entitled to a written employment contract or written statement which should be given to you within 13 weeks of starting work. You will find that employers in the UK are generally happy to have a written employment contract because it also protects them.
In fact under British law a verbal agreement has value in court.
In this case, it would be your word against the employer’s. The labor court tends to ask the employer to prove that what the employee says is not true.
If the employer has nothing in writing, the court will almost always agree with the employee. There are many lawyers working for no win no fee and suing is a very common thing. Even though the current government has made the procedure much more difficult for the employee, the majority of employers still try to protect themselves from the labor court. But unfortunately, there are many employers who take advantage of this, especially recent immigrants who have little knowledge of the language and the laws.
List of Conditions
In this article you will find a list of conditions that an English employment contract must have , to be sure that your rights are not violated. Bear in mind as a European citizen legally resident in the UK you have the same rights as a British citizen.
Let’s start with the essential information. The English contract of employment, to be valid, must necessarily state the name of the employer, his address, and the name of the employee. The other information is detailed below:
The payment
By law, workers in England must receive at least a minimum wage, called the minimum wage . It varies according to your age:
- Apprentice: £4.15 per hour;
- Up to 18s: £4.55 per hour;
- 18-20 year olds: £6.45 per hour;
- Ages 21 to 24: £8.20 per hour.
From the age of 25 we no longer speak of the minimum wage but of the national living wage , which currently corresponds to £8.72 per hour. There is also the living wage , currently equivalent to £10.75 for London and £9.30 for the rest of the UK. The living wage is established by the Living Wage Foundation , which calculates the cost of living in the UK and based on this determines how much a person must be paid to live properly. It is the only wage that distinguishes between the cost of living in the capital and the rest of the country, but as opposed to the minimum wageand the national living wage, employers are not required to comply with it.
The minimum wage is updated every April . You can view a table with all the minimum wage information on this site . The above payments are updated to April 2020.
In England you will be paid according to your position (team leader, manager, CEO etc.).
But you will not be guaranteed a minimum wage according to the level of your job. Take for example the Store Manager position in London: a Google search suggests the pay is around £28,000 a year. It is therefore very likely that, if you receive an offer for a similar job, your annual salary will be around that amount, but keep in mind that nothing prevents the company from paying you less.
The method of payment varies a lot depending on the job: it can be weekly, biweekly, or monthly, paid by bank transfer or in cash (more rarely). Most people have an employment contract with annual pay, while others, especially in retail, are paid by the hour and the worker receives a pay slip (paper or electronic) at the end of the month listing the number of hours worked, salary and taxes deducted (those earning less than £12,750 a year are exempt from tax – for the year 2021-2022).
If you work with targets (widely used in sales and recruitment), you will receive a fixed minimum wage each month, plus commissions if you reach your target.
Unlike Italy, there are no thirteenth or fourteenth month bonuses in England, but in various companies it is customary to receive a bonus towards the end of the year.
Type of employment contract
There are several contracts in England if you are an employee. Your contract can be:
- Temporary contract : temporary contract, often used for seasonal jobs, for example during the Christmas holidays, when shops need more staff. You may be offered a permanent position once the holiday period is over;
- Fixed term contract : fixed-term contract, similar to temporary contracts, in which the start and end date of work must be clearly indicated;
- Permanent contract: permanent contract;
- Zero Hour contract: zero-hour contract, which does not guarantee regular work with a fixed number of hours per week. The employer requires you to work shifts that you can accept or not.
If you decide to work on your own account ( self employed or freelance ), you will need to declare your business and pay taxes yourself.
Sickness & Co.
There are several contracts in England if you are an employee. Your contract can be:
- Temporary contract : temporary contract, often used for seasonal jobs, for example during the Christmas holidays, when shops need more staff. You may be offered a permanent position once the holiday period is over;
- Fixed term contract : fixed-term contract, similar to temporary contracts, in which the start and end date of work must be clearly indicated;
- Permanent contract: permanent contract;
- Zero Hour contract: zero-hour contract, which does not guarantee regular work with a fixed number of hours per week. The employer requires you to work shifts that you can accept or not.
If you decide to work on your own account ( self employed or freelance ), you will need to declare your business and pay taxes yourself.
Sick Days
By law, the employer must pay you from the fourth day of illness. Often you get paid from the first day, but nothing obliges your employer to do it. Those earning a minimum of £112 gross per week are eligible for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), a grant from the UK Government, which is around £88 per week. If you are absent from work for several weeks, you can apply for Housing Benefits .
Annual Leave & Trial period
Annual Leave (Holidays)
The employer must clearly specify how many days of holidays per year you are entitled to. By law there must be at least 28 days, and may or may not include eight bank holidays . If you are required to work during a bank holiday you will be entitled to a substitute day off, called in lieu. In many companies, the number of days granted increases with years of experience.
Trial period
The contract must also specify the length of your trial period and its conditions. Chances are you’ll be asked to complete a probationary period (typically one to six months) before you’re officially hired. During the probationary period, the notice to be fired or to resign is shorter: in general, one week in advance, instead of a month, is enough to resign. It is also important to point out that, during the probationary period, the employer may decide not to hire you or terminate your contract for any reason, without you being able to contest it.
In the case of dismissal, after the probationary period has passed, it is imperative to ask your employer what the reason for this decision is. If you believe that your actions did not go against your contract, you will be entitled to an appeal that will allow you to challenge your dismissal before it takes effect.
Once your new position has been accepted, your employer has three months to give you a copy of your employment contract. Read your contract carefully, and make sure you can do everything that is required of you, because once you sign the contract, everything that is required of you, and which is part of your job, cannot be contested. For example, if you work a typical 9-5 job but are asked to work a night shift, as per your signed contract, you will not be able to refuse to work your shift.