Employment Laws in the United Kingdom
- Employment laws in the U.K. allow workers to request flexible scheduling.united kingdom image by TEMISTOCLE LUCARELLI from Fotolia.com
Employment laws in the United Kingdom work to give employees rights and privileges to protect them from unfair labor conditions and to provide them with a minimum wage that can reasonably be expected to pay the bills. Some of these rights differ from those of workers in the United States, from vacation time to the lack of requirements to pay overtime. - Minimum wages in the United Kingdom are tiered based on the age of the worker. According to the website for the government of the United Kingdom, as of October 2010 the minimum wage for workers age 21 and older is £5.93 per hour, workers age 18 to 20 receive £4.92 per hour and workers age 16 and 17 garner a minimum of £3.64 per hour. A new prevailing hourly wage of £2.50 for those in the first year of apprenticeship or those apprentices who under the age of 19 will take effect on the same date.
- All workers in the United Kingdom are entitled to a little more than five weeks of paid leave each year. These leave days accumulate the moment you begin work, so no probationary period is necessary or even allowed. You must be paid your normal wage for each leave day taken, and you must be paid for any remaining leave should you decide to leave a job or the job finishes. Bank and national holidays can be included as part of your leave entitlement.
- Adult workers may not be forced to work longer than 48 hours per week on average over any given 17-week period. You are permitted to work longer than 48 hours in a week, though you may not work hours that would bring your average weekly hours up and over this 48-hour limit. Those over the age of 18 may opt out of this 48-hour limit, though this declaration must be made in writing and cannot be an agreement made for the entire workforce.
- Meal and rest breaks in the United Kingdom are at the discretion of the employer, with several standards in place. Employers offering rest breaks must allow employees to take a 20-minute uninterrupted rest if the employee is scheduled to work six or more hours. This rest period may not be taken at the end of the shift. Adult workers have the right to a break of 11 hours between scheduled workdays and at least one 24-hour period without work each week.
