Country Payroll Guide United Kingdom

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Key Facts

Capital
London
Date format
dd/mm/yyyy
Currency
Pound Sterling (GBP)
VAT
the standard rate is 20%

Contributions

Employers

National Insurance Rate
National Insurance Rate - 0% to 13.8%
Pension Fund
Pension Fund - 3%
Total Employment Cost
Total Employment Cost - 0% to 16.8%

Employees

National Insurance Rate
National Insurance Rate - 0% to 2%
Pension Fund
Pension Fund - 5%
Total Employee Cost
Total Employee Cost - 0% to 7%

Minimum Wage

Minimum Wage
The minimum wage in United Kingdom is 4.30 to 8.91 GBP per hour

Payroll

Payroll Cycle
Monthly
13th Salary

No 13th salary.

Income Tax

Employee Income Tax (1)
Up to 12,570 GBP - 0%
Employee Income Tax (2)
12,571 - 50,270 GBP - 20%
Employee Income Tax (3)
50,271- 150,000 GBP - 40%
Employee Income Tax (4)
Over 150,000 GBP - 45%

Working Hours

General Working Hours

48 hours maximum.

Overtime

Overtime must be stated and agreed upon in the employment contract.

Leave

Paid Time Off

Minimum of 28 days.

Public Holidays

8 public holidays in England, Wales and Scotland. There are 10 in Northern Ireland.

Sick Days

You can get £96.35 per week Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) if you’re too ill to work. It’s paid by your employer for up to 28 weeks.

Maternity Leave

52 weeks (26 weeks ordinary maternity leave & 26 weeks additional maternity leave).

Paternity Leave

2 weeks (after the birth).

Parental Leave

Up to 50 weeks of leave is shareable with up to 37 weeks of pay between the couple. (Before the child is reaches one years of age).

Termination

Termination Process

Staff must be dismissed fairly.

Notice Period

At least one week’s notice if employed between one month and 2 years one week’s notice for each year if employed between 2 and 12 years 12 weeks’ notice if employed for 12 years or more. As well as statutory redundancy pay, your employer should either: pay you through your notice period pay you in lieu of notice depending on your circumstances.

Severance Pay

An employee will recieve half a week’s pay for each full year you were under 22, one week’s pay for each full year you were 22 or older, but under 41 one and half week’s pay for each full year you were 41 or older. Length of service is capped at 20 years.

Probation Period

No legal requirement.

Visa

Employment Visa

All non-EU/EFTA citizens need a UK work visa. Nationals from some countries are able to enter the UK and stay for up to six months without a visa; in this case, however, they cannot work.