Employees can take time off work if they’re ill. They need to give their employer proof if they’re ill for more than 4 days. Eligible employees can receive £118.75 per week statutory sick pay (SSP). It’s paid by the employer for up to 28 weeks. The employee cannot get less than the statutory amount. He/she can get more if the company has a sick pay scheme (or ‘occupational scheme’) – employment contract needs to be checked.

Statutory Maternity Leave is 52 weeks. It’s made up of:
• Ordinary Maternity Leave – first 26 weeks
• Additional Maternity Leave – last 26 weeks.

Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is paid for up to 39 weeks. The mother gets 90% of average weekly earnings (before tax) for the first 6 weeks and then £187.18/week or 90% of the average weekly earnings (whichever is lower) for the next 33 weeks.

Thereafter, the remaining 13 weeks are unpaid, or covered by contractual pay if offered.) Eligible fathers/partners get 1-2
weeks paternity leave, with Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) also at £187.18 or 90% (up to 2 weeks). Shared Parental Leave (SPL) allows parents to split up to 50 weeks leave, sharing up to 39 weeks of statutory pay (using the same rate structure
as SMP).

From April 2025 neonatal leave and pay was introduced: parents of babies requiring neonatal care can take up to 12
weeks’ paid leave (Statutory Neonatal Care Pay at £123/week).

Unemployment benefit, which is also known as contribution-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (for those with sufficient NI contributions – income-based JSA is being phased out in favor of Universal Credit) will often provide up to 6 months of cover which should allow to keep up with all essential expenditure such as mortgage payments, grocery shopping and bills while seeking new employment.

The weekly amount of JSA / “personal allowance”:
• £72.90 if a person is aged 18 to 24
• £92.05 if a person is aged 25 or more

Person’s right to work in the UK depends on where he/she travels from as well as what type of work he/she wants to do.
They may need a UK work visa as well as a job offer in order to take up employment.

Since Brexit, all non-UK nationals (including EU/EEA/Swiss citizens) generally require a valid UK work visa to take employment. Only Irish citizens still have free movement by law. EU/EEA/Swiss citizens can visit visa-free for up to 6 months (for tourism or business), but not to work long-term.

Short-term work visas exist for seasonal/temporary roles, but casual/low-skilled roles generally cannot be filled by overseas workers. Employers must conduct right-to-work checks for all employees and sponsorship requirements apply equally to new hires from abroad.

Before applying following work permit requirements must be reached:

• confirmed offer of employment from a licensed UK employer who will act as a sponsor;
• be in possession of a Certificate of Sponsorship issued by a sponsoring employer;
• pass the points-based assessment, details of which can be found on the category specific work permit pages listed below.

There are 3 main categories of UK work permit we advise on. These are:

• Skilled Worker
• Intra-Company Transfer (for employees moving within global companies)
• Sportsperson Visa (for elite athletes)

The work permit application process is led by the employer who is responsible for issuing with a Certificate of
Sponsorship to applicant.

UK is offering many different possibilities for expats visiting the country, depends on the purpose of the visit.
All detailed information on each category (long and short term work visa, other visas, investor, business development and talent visas etc.) can be found here – https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/work-visas.

There are different types of dismissal:

• fair dismissal (with valid reason)
• unfair dismissal
• constructive dismissal
• wrongful dismissal.

Termination by employer – Employers must show that they have a potentially fair reason for dismissal.
The potentially fair reasons are:

• misconduct,
• capability (health or performance),
• illegality,
• redundancy or “some other substantial reason”.

Employees must be given notice of termination unless they are dismissed for gross misconduct. The length of the notice period is specified in an employee’s contract of employment, subject to the statutory minimum.

The law entitles both parties, the employee and employer to notice of termination of employment when either party ends the contract.

The statutory redundancy notice periods are (individual contracts often specify longer notice):

• at least 1 weeks’ notice if employed between 1 month and 2 years,
• 1 weeks’ notice for each year of service if employed between 2 and 12 years,
• 12 weeks’ notice if employed 12 years or more.

Fixed-term contracts termination – if the contract is ended before the expiry date, the statutory notice period is given.

Collective dismissal – If an employer has proposals to dismiss 20 or more employees as redundant within a period of
90 days, it must consult with trade union representatives or employee representatives before any final decisions are taken. Consultation must take place about avoiding dismissals, minimizing the number of dismissals, and mitigating the consequences of dismissals. The employer must also notify the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy of the proposed redundancies.

Weeks of statutory redundancy pay someone is entitled to depends on all the following:

• the employee’s age
• how long they’ve worked for the employer (≥2 years’ service up to 20 years’ service).

Redundancy pay is calculated by weekly pay (capped at £719). The maximum amount of statutory redundancy pay is £16,320.

Employees get:

• 1.5 weeks’ pay for each full year of employment for 41+
• 1 week’s pay per year for age 22-40
• 0.5 week’s pay per year under age 22