Basic rights at work
Rights at work
Your rights at work will depend on:
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your statutory rights (see below), and
your contract of employment (see below).
Your contract of employment cannot take away rights you have by law. So if, for example,
you have a contract which states you are only entitled to two weeks' paid holiday per year
when, by law, all full-time employees are entitled to 28 days' paid holiday per year, this part
of your contract is void and does not apply. The right you have under law (to 28 days' holiday
in this case) applies instead.
If your contract gives you greater rights than you have under law, for example, your contract
gives you six weeks' paid holiday per year, then your contract applies.
There are special rules about the employment of children and young people.
For information about young people and their rights at work in England, Wales and Northern
Ireland, see Young people and employment. In Scotland see, Young people: education and
employment.
Statutory rights
Statutory rights are legal rights based on laws passed by Parliament.
Nearly all workers, regardless of the number of hours per week they work, have certain legal
rights. There are some workers who are not entitled to certain statutory rights (see below).
Sometimes an employee only gains a right when they have been employed by their employer
for a certain length of time, and when this applies, the length of time before the employee
gains the right is listed below. Unless you are in the group of workers who are excluded (see
Workers not entitled to certain statutory rights), you will have the following statutory rights:
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the right to a written statement of terms of employment within two months of starting
work, (see under heading Written statement of the main terms and conditions of
employment)
the right to an itemised pay slip. This applies from the day the employee starts work.
More on Rights to pay
the right to be paid at least the national minimum wage. This applies from the day the
employee starts work.
More on Rights to pay
the right not to have illegal deductions made from pay. This applies from the day the
employee starts work.
More on Rights to pay
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the right to paid holiday. Full-time employees are entitled to at least 28 days a year. Parttime employees are entitled to a pro rata amount
More on Holidays and holiday pay.
the right to time off for trade union duties and activities. This applies from the day the
employee starts work. The time off does not necessarily have to be paid. Employees also
have the right to be accompanied by a trade union representative to a disciplinary or
grievance hearing. If an employee takes part in official industrial action and is dismissed as a
result, this will be an automatically unfair dismissal
the right to paid time off to look for work if being made redundant. This applies once the
employee has worked for two years for that employer (see under heading Time off work)
the right to time off for study or training for 16-17 year olds. This applies from the day the
employee starts work (see under heading Time off work)
the right to paid time off for ante natal care. This applies from the day the employee starts
work, (see under heading Time off work)
the right to paid maternity leave. More on Maternity leave.
the right to paid paternity leave
the right to ask for flexible working – see under heading The right to ask for flexible working
the right to paid adoption leave
the right to take unpaid parental leave for both men and women (if you have worked for
the employer for one year) and the right to reasonable time off to look after dependants in
an emergency (applies from the day the employee starts work) (see under heading Time off
work)
the right under Health and Safety law to work a maximum 48-hour working week. This
applies from the day the employee starts work (see under heading Health and safety)
the right under Health and Safety law to weekly and daily rest breaks. This applies from the
day the employee starts work. (see under heading Health and safety). There are special rules
for night workers
the right not to be discriminated against. This applies from the day the employee starts
work. See under heading Harassment and discrimination
the right to carry on working until you are at least 65
the right to notice of dismissal, provided you have worked for your employer for at least
one calendar month
the right to written reasons for dismissal from your employer, provided you have worked
for your employer for one year if you started before 6 April 2012 or two years if you started
on or after that date. Women who are pregnant or on maternity leave are entitled to written
reasons without having to have worked for any particular length of time
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the right to claim compensation if unfairly dismissed. In most cases to be able to claim
unfair dismissal you will have to have worked for your employer for one year if you started
before 6 April 2012 or two years if you started on or after that date
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the right to claim redundancy pay if made redundant. In most cases you will have to have
worked for two years to be able to claim redundancy pay
the right not to suffer detriment or dismissal for ‘blowing the whistle’ on a matter of public
concern (malpractice) at the workplace. This applies from the day the employee starts work
(see under heading Whistle-blowing at work)
the right of a part-time worker to the same contractual rights (pro-rata) as a comparable
full-time worker
the right of a fixed-term employee to the same contractual rights as a comparable
permanent employee.
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You may also have additional rights which may be set out in your contract of employment. In
particular, a part-time worker’s contract should be checked.
If in doubt about whether or not you have any statutory rights you should consult an
experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau, To search for details of your
nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
Workers not entitled to certain statutory rights
Some workers are not entitled to some statutory rights (see under heading Rights at work).
They are:
anyone who is not an employee, for example, an agency or freelance worker. However,
most workers are entitled to certain rights such as the national minimum wage, limits on
working time and other health and safety rights, the right not to be discriminated against
and paid holiday.
For information on the rights of agency workers, see Agency workers' rights.
If you are not an employee but an agency/freelance worker, a casual worker, a trainee or self
employed, you should seek help from an experienced adviser, for example, a Citizens Advice
Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by
email, click on nearest CAB.
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employees who normally work outside the UK
members of the police service. However, members of the police service are covered by
discrimination law
members of the armed forces. However, members of the armed forces are covered by
discrimination law
merchant seamen and share fishermen
some workers in the transport industry are not entitled to paid holidays or limits on their
working hours by law and have to rely on their contract
trainee doctors are not entitled to paid holidays and have to rely on their employment
contract. They are also limited to working a 58 hour week, rather than 48 hours.
Rights under the contract of employment
The contract of employment is the agreement made between the employer and the employee.
This could be in the form of a written agreement or what has been agreed verbally between
them.
In addition, the contract of employment will also include ‘custom and practice’ agreements.
These are how things are usually done in the workplace, for example, if the employer always
gives the employees a day’s holiday in August. Even though this is not mentioned in the
written contract this will form part of the contract of employment as it is the usual practice.
If the written contract says one thing, but in practice all the employees have been doing
something else with the employer’s knowledge and agreement, the ‘custom and practice’
would form the contract rather than the written statement.
A trade union may have negotiated an agreement with an employer about conditions at work.
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The negotiated agreement will often form part of a contract of employment, particularly if the
conditions negotiated are more favourable than the previous ones.
Illegal contracts of employment
Some contracts of employment will be illegal if:
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the employee gets all or part of their wages as ‘cash in hand’; and
tax and national insurance contributions are not paid; and
the employee knows they are getting paid in this way to avoid paying national insurance and
tax.
For more information on contracts of employment see Contracts of employment, and in
England, Wales and Scotland, see Changes to employment contracts in Employment fact
sheets.
Written statement of the main terms and conditions of employment
All employees, regardless of the number of hours they work per week, are entitled to receive
a written statement from their employer, within two months of starting work. The statement
describes the main terms of the contract of employment.
The statement must give details about:
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job title
wages
hours of work
holiday entitlement
sick pay
pension schemes
notice
grievance, dismissal and disciplinary procedure.
For more information on the written statement of terms and conditions see Contracts of
employment.
Wages
There are a number of statutory rights associated with wages.
For information about wages including information about the national minimum wage, illegal
deductions from wages and rights to a pay slip, see Rights to pay. For more information about
illegal deductions from wages in England, Wales and Scotland, see Employer withholds your
pay, in Employment fact sheets.
For information about the pay of agency workers, see Additional rights for agency workers.
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Holidays and holiday pay
Nearly all workers are entitled by law to paid annual leave. Full-time workers are entitled to
at least 5.6 weeks a leave year. If you work part-time, you're entitled to a pro rata amount.
There are some workers who are not entitled to paid holiday.
For more information about holidays and holiday pay, see Holidays and holiday pay, and in
England, Wales and Scotland, see Holidays and holiday pay in Employment fact sheets.
Bank holidays
Unless your contract of employment gives you bank holidays in addition to your statutory
paid holiday, bank holidays are included when calculating your entitlement. So if, for
example, you work full-time and you have eight days off in a year for bank holidays, you will
be entitled to these eight days plus another 20 days of holiday.
For more information about the dates of bank holidays, see Bank and public holidays.
Lay offs and short-time working
If your employer has no work for you to do, they may put you on short-time working or lay
you off.
If you are laid off, you will not usually get paid. Short-time working means you will receive
only part of your normal wage. This could affect your pension. It could also affect your tax
position and any benefits you get. For example, if your hours fall below a certain level, this
could affect any tax credits you get. Make sure you tell HM Revenue and Customs if your
hours go down. It could also mean that, because your earnings have dropped, you become
eligible for benefits or other help that you couldn't get before, for example, Housing Benefit
and Council Tax Reduction.
If you are laid off or put on short-time working, you may be entitled to a payment from your
employer, called a ‘guarantee payment’.
In some cases, lay-offs or short-time working may be offered to you as an alternative to
redundancy. In some cases, you may be able to claim a redundancy payment if you've been
laid off or put on short-time working.
For more information about short-time working and lay-offs, see When can your employer
make you redundant.
For more information about benefits and tax credits, see Benefits and tax credits for people in
work.
For more information about Housing Benefit, see Help with your rent – Housing Benefit. For
more information about Council Tax Reduction, see Council tax Reduction – what you need
to know in England, Wales and Scotland and Help with your rates in Northern Ireland.
If you have been laid off or put on short-time working, you should consult an experienced
adviser about the benefits and other payments you may be entitled to, for example, a Citizens
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Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give
advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB.
Sickness
Many employees will be entitled to statutory sick pay if they are off work due to sickness. In
addition, some employees may receive occupational sick pay from their employer but this
will depend on their contract of employment.
For more details about statutory sick pay, see Off work because of sickness. In England,
Wales and Scotland, there is also a fact sheet called Sickness at work in Employment fact
sheets.
Time off work
Almost all employees have a statutory right to take paid time off work for the following:
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to carry out duties as a trade union official
to carry out duties as a trade union health and safety representative
to look for work if faced with redundancy
to receive ante-natal care
to have a baby, to take paternity leave, to take adoption leave or to ask for flexible working
hours to care for a child
For more information about maternity, paternity and adoption leave and asking for flexible
working hours, see Parental rights at work.
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to study or train for employees aged 16-17
In England and Wales, for more information about young people’s right to time off for
study/training, see Young people and employment.
In addition, almost all employees have a right to take time off work, although not necessarily
with pay, for the following:
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to participate in trade union activities
to perform ‘public duties’, for example, being a JP, local authority councillor or school
governor
to care for their children. People who have worked for their employer for one year have the
right to unpaid parental leave. You are entitled to 18 weeks' unpaid leave before your child
is five, or if your child is disabled, before they are 18.
to attend to unexpected problems with dependants, for example, where child minding
arrangements break down. A dependant includes anyone who reasonably relies on the
employee
For more information about your right to time off work in England, Wales and Scotland, see
Time off work in Employment fact sheets.
If you have a query about your rights to time off work, or a problem arises in relation to these
rights, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau.
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To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email,
click on nearest CAB.
The right to ask for time for training
In England, Scotland and Wales some people have the right to ask for time off work to do
training. But even though you have the right to ask for time off, your employer doesn't have
to give you this time off. If they do give you the time off, they don't have to pay you for it.
You have the right to ask for time off for training if:
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you are an employee
you work for an organisation with 250 or more employees
you've been working for your employer for at least 26 weeks when you make the request
you don’t already have a legal right for paid time off to study or train. For example, you
might already have this right if you're 16-18.
In England and Wales, for more information about time off for study or training for young
people, see Young people and employment.
You can ask for time off to do any training which would help you be more effective at work,
and improve the performance of the business you work for. The training can be training that
leads to a qualification, or that helps you develop skills at work. There's no time limit on the
amount of time you can ask for.
You can find out more about the right to ask for time off to train, what you can ask for and
how to make your request on the Directgov website at: www.direct.gov.uk.
The right to ask for flexible working
If you have worked for your employer for at least 26 weeks, you can ask for flexible working.
Flexible working can include working part time, working school hours, working flexitime,
home working, job sharing, shift working, staggering hours and compressing hours (where
you work your total number of agreed hours over a shorter period).
Although you have the right to ask to work flexibly, your employer doesn't have to agree to
it. However, they must give your request serious consideration and have a good business
reason if they decide not to agree.
You can make one request to work flexibly each year. This must be in writing. You should
say how you think the change in your working pattern will affect your employer's business
and how this might work in practice.
You do not have the right to appeal but it is good practice for your employer to allow this. If
your appeal for flexible working is refused, you may be able to:
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ask ACAS to help you sort out your dispute with your employer. ACAS has set up a flexible
working arbitration scheme to deal with this type of dispute. You can find out more on the
ACAS website at www.acas.org.uk
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complain to an employment tribunal.
You can only complain to an employment tribunal under certain circumstances, for example,
where your employer hasn't followed the procedure properly for considering your request or
where they haven't taken the right information into account when making their decision.
You may also be able to make a claim to an employment tribunal for sex discrimination. For
example, If you are a woman, you may be able to make a claim on the basis that refusing to
allow you to work flexibly is 'indirect sex discrimination'. This is because more women than
men have childcare responsibilities.
There's a strict time limit for making a claim to an employment tribunal. This is usually three
months minus one day from the date when the thing you are complaining about last
happened. This is extended from 6 May 2014 as you must notify Acas of your claim in most
employment tribunal cases.
This is a very complicated area. If you want to make a claim to an employment tribunal
because your employer has refused your request for flexible working, you should get advice
from an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details
of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
You should also bear in mind that an employment tribunal may not be able to over-turn your
employer's decision. However, it may be able to force your employer to reconsider your
request or to award you compensation.
For more information about the right to flexible working, go to the GOV.UK website at:
www.gov.uk. Directgov has an interactive tool which can help you work out the rights and
options for your own particular circumstances.
Health and safety
All employers have a statutory duty to take care of the health and safety of all their
employees, for example, they should provide first aid equipment, and adequate means of
escape in case of fire, protective clothing and ensure all machinery is safe.
In addition, there are specific rules which cover the following:
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fire safety. For more information about employers' responsibilities for fire safety in England,
visit www.gov.uk, in Wales visit www.wales.gov.uk and in Scotland, visit:
www.infoscotland.com/firelaw
cleanliness
noise
machinery
lifting and carrying heavy weights
hazardous substances
toilets
washing facilities
drinking water
seating
first aid facilities
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temperatures
hours and rests. Nearly all workers have the right not to have to work for more than 48
hours on average, a week. Night workers cannot work an average of more than eight hours
in each 24 hour period. Workers aged 18 and over (adult workers) are entitled to one day off
each week. Workers aged 16-18 (adolescent workers) are entitled to two days off each
week. Adult workers are entitled to eleven hours consecutive rest per day, and a minimum
20 minute rest break if their working day is longer than six hours. Adolescent workers are
entitled to 12 hours consecutive rest per day, and a minimum 30 minute rest break if they
work for longer than four and a half hours
use of computers
smoking at work is banned.
For more information, in England, Scotland and Wales, about health and safety at work, see
Accidents at work in Employment fact sheets.
For more information about your right to rest breaks in England, Wales and Scotland, see
Rest breaks at work, and Working hours in Employment fact sheets.
In England, Wales and Scotland you can find further information on your rights on the Health
and Safety Executive (HSE) website at www.hse.gov.uk.
In Wales, HSE has a bi-lingual website at www.hse.gov.uk.
In addition, in Scotland, Safe and Healthy Working has an adviceline on 0800 0192211 and a
website at: www.safeandhealthyworking.com.
In Northern Ireland, the HSENI have an information and advice line on 0800 032 0121 and a
website at www.hseni.gov.uk.
If you have a query about the weekly limit on working hours or about night work you should
contact the Pay and Work rights helpline on 0800 917 2368.
Discrimination
Discrimination means unfair treatment which is, in some way, related to a personal
characteristic. It can be unlawful if it is to do with one of the following 'protected'
characteristics:
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age
disability
gender identity
marriage or civil partnership
pregnancy or maternity leave
race
religion or belief
sex
sexual orientation.
There are different types of discrimination:
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direct discrimination
harassment
indirect discrimination
victimisation
reasonable adjustments
discrimination arising from disability.
Direct discrimination occurs when someone is treated worse than other people because of one
of the protected personal characteristics listed above. For example, if an Asian employee is
not selected for promotion because of their race, this is direct race discrimination.
Harassment can also be a form of discrimination if it is related to one of those characteristics.
Harassment can include verbal abuse, suggestive remarks and unwanted physical contact.
Indirect discrimination occurs where a particular employee is disadvantaged by a policy or
requirement which is not justifiable in terms of the work. The disadvantage must be linked to
one of the 'protected' characteristics. For example, if the employer only gives training to fulltime workers, this would indirectly discriminate against women, as more women than men
are part-time workers.
You may also be discriminated against if you are victimised because you have tried to
complain or take action about discrimination.
If you’re disabled, employers have a duty to remove the barriers you face because of your
disability so you can do your job and apply for jobs in the same way as someone who's not
disabled. This is called the duty to make reasonable adjustments.
If you're disabled, your employer could also discriminate against you if you’re treated
unfairly because of something arising from your disability rather than the disability itself.
For more information about your rights not to be discriminated against at work, see
Discrimination at work.
If you've been discriminated against at work you can make a complaint or raise a grievance,
and negotiate to try the resolve the issue. Or you can make a claim to an employment
tribunal. There's a strict time limit for making a tribunal claim. This is usually three months
minus one day from the date when the thing you are complaining about last happened. You
must notify Acas of your tribunal claim. You should get advice about what to do before the
time limit is up.
You can get help from an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To
search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click
on nearest CAB.
Bullying
Your employer should protect you from being bullied at work. The Advisory, Conciliation
and Arbitration Service (ACAS) has useful guidance about workplace bullying and
harassment on its website at www.acas.org.uk. If you are a member of a union, they will be
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able to provide information and help. The Trades Union Congress (TUC) worksmart website
also has useful information on bullying in the workplace at www.worksmart.org.uk.
Trade unions
An employee has the right to join a trade union, and should not be refused a job, dismissed,
harassed or selected for redundancy because they are a member of or wish to join a trade
union.
An employee also has the right not to join a trade union if they wish, and should not be
refused a job, dismissed, harassed or selected for redundancy because they refused to join.
A member of a trade union has the right to take part in trade union activities, for example,
recruiting members, collecting subscriptions and attending meetings.
Trade union activities must take place either outside the employee’s normal working hours or
at a time agreed with the employer. An employee has no right to be paid for this time off
work unless their contract allows for this.
Trade union activities don't include taking industrial action, for example, going on strike.
There are different rules about taking industrial action. To find out about rights to take
industrial action, see the Trades Union Congress (TUC) website at: www.worksmart.org.uk.
An employee should not be refused a job or dismissed because they are on a list because of
their trade union activities or membership. It is also against the law to make, sell, supply or
use a list to discriminate against people in a trade union.
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