U.K. Employment Law Guide
Employment law in the United Kingdom consists of various legislative acts that include obligations of an employer to their workers. There is no single law that applies to employment of individuals in the U.K. There are, however, many separate laws and rules that dictate paying a minimum wage, the amount of time your employees can work and the amount of data you can collect about an employee.
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Minimum Wage Laws
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One of the first things you should do when learning about employment law in the U.K. is becoming familiar with the minimum wage laws. You are required to pay a minimum wage as a result of the National Minimum Wage Act of 1998 and the National Wage Regulations of 1999. These acts include how much you can pay an employee based on their age. You can pay a different minimum wage to employees who are under 18 and over 21. The minimum wage can change each year, which means that you will want to keep current on minimum-wage requirements.
Work Time for Employees
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The amount of time your employees can work and how much rest is allowed are found in the Working Time Regulations of 1998 and Amendments of 1999. These regulations are designed to limit the hours your employees can work per week, providing for rest breaks and paying for annual leave. You are required by Working Time Regulations to make sure that an employee's average work week does not exceed 48 hours. This time limit also includes any overtime that is worked by any of your employees. These regulations may not apply if you are self-employed and do not fall into the definition of employment provided in the regulations.
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Employee Data Collection
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Data that you collect about your employees is regulated by the Data Protection Act of 1998. This act provides your employees with greater rights for access to information that you have stored about them in a manual or computerized record. The act also limits the amount of information you can collect and store about an employee. Basic information that you can collect includes an employee's personal details such as their date of birth, job qualifications, previous experience, emergency contact information and bank information. You can also include information about employment for your employees such as the date they were hired and their current job title.
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