What Small Employers Need to Know about Hiring New Employees
Congratulations, you’ve found the perfect candidate to join your company. Growing your company is an exciting time for any business owner, however many employers get bogged down and worried about employment legislation.
To help you get on top of employment legislation right from the start we’ve put together some key points that you need to be aware of.
• Eligibility to Work in the UK
Always request to see the individual’s passport or proof of eligibility to work in the UK. Employers found to be employing illegal workers could face fines of up to £20,000
• Contract of Employment
Employees must receive a written statement of their terms of conditions of employment within 2 months of commencing employment. Under legislation specific information must be set out in the written terms. This is most commonly issued through the contract of employment.
• Pay
New employers need to familiarise themselves with minimum wage legislation. HMRC have recently started naming and shaming employers paying less than minimum wage. Appearing on this list is likely to seriously damage any employer’s reputation.
• Payroll
Request a P45 from your new employee to assist you in setting them up on your payroll. Using payroll software is a cost efficient way of processing your payroll and will ensure that you are fully compliant with legislative requirements such as Real Time Information (RTI).
• Holidays
Under legislation all workers start to accrue annual leave as soon as they start employment. The statutory minimum holiday entitlement is 5.6 weeks (28 days), for full-time employees, pro-rata for part-time employees. Unless an employee is leaving employment, it is unlawful to pay employees in lieu of statutory holidays.
• Hours of Work & Rest Breaks
Under the Working Time Regulations any individual who works more than 6 hours a day is entitled to a 20 minute rest break. Rest breaks are generally unpaid.
Bright Contracts – Employment Contracts and Handbooks.
BrightPay – Payroll & Auto Enrolment Software.
