Employment rights

An employee can not officially work more than 48 hours per week on average.  

The average is normally worked out over 17 weeks and is often referred to as the ‘working time directive’ or ‘working time regulations’.  

Employees under the age of 18 can not work more than eight hours per day or 40 hours per week.  

Some employees can choose to work more than 48 hours if they opt out of the working time directive.  

Other exceptions to the rules around working hours include those people who work in a job:

• Where 24-hour staffing is required
• In the armed forces, emergency services or police
• In security and surveillance
• As a domestic servant in a private household
• As a seafarer, fisherman or worker on vessels or inland waterways
• Where working time is not measured (eg if you’re a managing executive/decision maker)

All employers in the UK must pay their employees at least the minimum wage, which is based on age and whether the employee is an apprentice.  

The National Minimum Wage is the minimum pay per hour almost all workers are entitled to. It is higher than the National Minimum Wage and workers get it if they are aged over 21.  

The minimum wage rates increase every year, changing on 1 April.  

The rates from April 2024 are as follows:  

Apprentice: £6.40

16-17 year old £6.40

18-20 years: £8.60

21 years and over: £11.44

Apprentices are entitled to the apprentice rate if they are either aged under 19 or in the first year of their apprenticeship.

Workers are also entitled to the correct minimum wage if they are: 

• Part-time 
• Casual labourers, for example someone hired for one day 
• Agency workers 
• Workers and homeworkers paid by the number of items they make 
• Apprentices 
• Trainees, workers on probation 
• Disabled workers 
• Agricultural workers 
• Foreign workers 
• Seafarers 
• Offshore workers 

As an employer, you must not unfairly treat or dismiss an employee because of childbirth. All employees are entitled to maternity leave.

Employment rights during maternity leave are as follows:

• All employees have the right to 52 weeks maternity leave with the right to return to work. 
• Employees are entitled to all their contractual terms and conditions during maternity leave, apart from their pay. 
• Employees are entitled to 39 weeks’ maternity pay if they meet the qualifying conditions (see below). 
• Employees have the right to be offered a suitable alternative vacancy, if one exists, if they are at risk of redundancy during maternity. 
• Employees have the right to ask for changes to their hours, days or place of work on return from maternity leave. 
• Employees are protected against unfair treatment, unfair dismissal and discrimination because of pregnancy, childbirth, and maternity. 

*Statutory means the legal minimum an employer must give.

Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is paid for 39 weeks and is paid at two rates: 

For the first six weeks employees get 90% of their average pay. The average is based on an employee’s earnings when they are approximately 18 to 26 weeks pregnant. 

After the first six weeks, employees get a flat rate of £184.03 per week for 33 weeks or 90% of their average earnings if that is less. 

Employers are wholly responsible for paying SMP in the same way they would pay their employee’s salary, deducting tax and National Insurance contributions where applicable.

However, employers can claim SMP back from HMRC.  

Employees can get SMP even if they do not plan to go back to work or their job ends after the 15th week before their baby is due. 

Employees also do not have to pay any SMP back if they do not return to work.  

Employees may need to take time off because their partner is having a baby, adopting a child or having a baby through a surrogacy arrangement and may be eligible for:  

• One or two weeks paid paternity leave  
• Paternity pay  
• Shared Parental Leave and pay  

They may not get both leave and pay, and there are rules on how to claim and when paternity leave can start.  

For more information on paternity leave click here. 

An employee may be able to get Shared Parental Leave (SPL) and Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) if they are:  

• Having a baby  
• Using a surrogate to have a baby  
• Adopting a child 

SPL allows a couple to share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay between them.   

SPL needs to be taken in the first year after the child is born or placed with their family and couples can use SPL to take leave in blocks separated by periods of work or take it all in one go. They can also choose to be off work together or to stagger the leave and pay.  

To get SPL and ShPP, employees need to meet the eligibility criteria (there is different criteria for birth parents, adoptive parents and parents using a surrogate) and give their employers notice.  

ShPP is paid at the rate of £184.03 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.  

This is the same as Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) except that during the first six weeks SMP is paid at 90% of whatever you earn (with no maximum).  

For more information on this subject, click here. 

Employees can work up to 10 days during their maternity or adoption leave. These days are called ‘keeping in touch days’ or KIT days.

Keeping in touch days are optional and both the employee and employer need to agree to them.  

 The type of work and pay employees get should be agreed before they come into work. The employee’s right to maternity or adoption leave and pay is not affected by taking keeping in touch days.  

Employees can work up to 20 days during their Shared Parental Leave. These are called ‘shared parental leave in touch’ (or SPLIT) days. These days are in addition to the 10 ‘keeping in touch’ (or KIT) days already available to employees on maternity or adoption leave.  

Parental bereavement leave is time off to deal with the death of a child if they die under the age of 18 or are stillborn after 24 weeks pregnancy. Parents will also have a right to time off for dependents. 

 Eligible parents have a right to two weeks of Statutory Parental Bereavement Leave and two weeks Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay.

This right applies to the: 

- Biological parent 

- Adoptive parent if the child was living with them 

- Person who lived with the child and had responsibility for them, for at least four weeks before they died 

- 'Intended parent' – due to become the legal parent through surrogacy 

- Partner of the child’s parent if they live with the child and the child's parent in an enduring family relationship 

Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay is one of the following, whichever is lower: 

-£184.03 a week 

-90% of their average weekly earnings 

Some employers offer enhanced (contractual) bereavement pay that’s more than Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay. It cannot be less. 

Flexible working is a pattern of work that benefits employee’s needs, for example having flexible start and finish times or working from home.  

*Flexible working rules are different in Northern Ireland.  

Legally, every employee, who has worked for the same employer for at least 26 weeks, can request flexible working - not just parents and carers. This is known as ‘making a statutory application’.  

Employers must deal with requests in a ‘reasonable manner’, or an employee can take them to an employment tribunal.  

An employer can refuse an application if they have a good business reason for doing so.  

You can download the Acas guide to flexible working here.

According to Acas, reasonable adjustment is a change to remove or reduce the effect of: 

- An employee’s disability so they can do their job 

- A job applicant’s disability when applying for a job 

It could be to the workplace, the ways things are done or getting someone to help the employee or job applicant. 

Employers, by law, must consider making reasonable adjustments when: 

- They know, or could be expected to know, an employee or job applicant has a disability 

- An employee or job applicant with a disability asks for adjustments 

- An employee with a disability is having difficulty with any part of their job 

- An employee's absence record, sickness record or delay in returning to work is because of or linked to their disability 

The employer must also consider reasonable adjustments for anything linked to an employee's disability.

What is deemed ‘reasonable’ depends on the situation. Employers must decide if the adjustment is practical, affordable and doesn’t harm the health and safety of others.

Read more from Acas here. 

All workers are entitled to work in environments where risks to their health and safety are properly controlled. Under health and safety law, the primary responsibility for this is down to employers.  

Workers have a duty to take care of their own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by your actions at work. Workers must cooperate with employers and co-workers to help everyone meet their legal requirements.   

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has a downloadable guide for health and safety law.