What you'll learn
- Country Introduction
- Tax Breakdown for Employers
- Statutory Leave Laws
- Minimum Wage and Working Hours
- Termination Process
- Additional Information
The United Kingdom (UK) is a sovereign country in Europe comprised of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The country includes the island of Great Britain, the northeastern part of the island of Ireland, and smaller islands within the British Isles. The UK has a high-income economy and the world’s 6th-largest GDP. British culture has been influenced by the combined nations' history, its interaction with the cultures of Europe, the traditions of England, Wales, Scotland, & Ireland, and the impact of the British Empire.
Paid Leave and Statutory Leave
Parental Leave
Pregnant employees are entitled to 52 weeks of maternity leave, of which at least 2 weeks need to be taken after the child’s birth. The leave is paid for 39 weeks up to 90% of the regular salary, the first 6 weeks by the employer and the next 33 weeks by social insurance.
Fathers can receive 1-2 weeks of paid paternity leave, beginning after the birth and paid at up to 90% of the salary by social insurance. Parents in the UK can also receive Shared Parental Leave (SPL) when adopting or after the birth of a child. Parents can take up to 50 weeks of shared leave, of which 37 weeks are paid.
Sick Leave
Employees can receive up to 28 weeks of paid sick leave compensated at a minimum of GBP 99.35 per week after the first 3 days of illness.
Paid Leave
There are 8 public holidays in England, Wales, and Scotland, and 10 holidays in Northern Ireland. Employees are also entitled to at least 28 days of paid time off each year (including bank holidays). Employees can also take leave for bereavement, jury duty, or other occurrences.
Wage Requirements and Working Hours
The national minimum wage in the United Kingdom is dependent on the age of the employee, and is around GBP 10.42 per hour. The standard workweek is 40 hours at 8 hours per day. Overtime work is regulated by the employment contract or collective agreements.
Termination Process
Process
The termination process depends on the employment contract or collective agreement and reason for termination. Terminations could be deemed fair or unfair depending on the reasoning of the termination.
Notice Period
Notice periods are usually outlined in the employment contract, however the statutory minimum is 1 week of notice per year of work at the company (up to 12 weeks).
Severance Pay
Severance pay is only mandatory in the case of termination due to redundancy. The amount of depends on the age of the employee:
- Employees under 22 = 0.5 week of pay for each full year of employment
- Employees aged 22-41 = 1 week of pay for each full year of employment
- Employees aged 41+ = 1.5 week of pay for each full year of employment
Additional Information
Companies working with talent based in the UK should be mindful of UK's IR35 tax law, which was introduced to prevent tax avoidance by contractors who work through limited or personal services companies. The law requires contractors who work similar to regular employees to pay the same income tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs).
★ 4% - Pension Fund
★ 15.05% - National Insurance
★ 0.5% - Monthly Apprentice Levy
★ GBP 60.32 - Employer Liability Insurance
Simplified Global HR and Payroll.
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with only 3 steps.
Remote candidate
You've sourced a full-time employee or contractor located in a country where your company is not incorporated.
Cost Calculation
Pass us the details of your candidate and we will let you know exactly what it costs to employ your candidate in that country.
Onboarding & Admin
Sit back and relax as we onboard your new team member and take care of all the local compliances and admin work.
It can be prohibitively expensive to establish an entity in every country you want to hire talent in, so Remofirst will hire and pay your employee on your behalf while you manage their daily duties. Remofirst will handle formal HR procedures and employment contracts that adhere to local laws, so that you can simply approve invoices via our platform. When you work with an Employer of Record (EOR) you can compliantly hire the best employees around the world.
Unlike full-time employees, contractors work on projects with multiple companies at a given time and are technically self-employed. Full-time employees are solely focused on their employer and usually receive benefits (such as health insurance, equity or stock options, and time off) as an additional form of compensation. While it can be cheaper to work with international contractors instead of paying benefits to a full-time employee, you run the risk of misclassification. It's recommended to work with an EOR for contractor onboarding and payments, so you can know that your international contractors are paid compliantly and on time.
