Contract types and employer responsibilities
As an employer, the tax and employment responsibilities you have for your staff will depend on the type of contract you give them and their employment status.
Contract types include:
- full-time and part-time contracts
- fixed-term contracts
- agency staff
- freelancers, consultants, contractors
- zero hour contracts
There are also special rules for employing family members, young people and volunteers.
As an employer you must give employees:
- a written statement of employment or contract
- the statutory minimum level of paid holiday
- a payslip showing all deductions, eg National Insurance contributions NICs (opens new window)
- the statutory minimum length of rest breaks
- Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)
- maternity, paternity and adoption pay and leave
You must also:
- make sure employees don’t work longer than the maximum allowed
- pay employees at least the minimum wage
- have employer’s liability insurance
- provide a safe and secure working environment
- register with HM Revenue and Customs to deal with payroll, tax and NICs
- consider flexible working requests
- avoid discrimination in the workplace
- make reasonable adjustments to your business premises if your employee is disabled
Fixed-term contracts:
- last for a certain length of time
- are set in advance
- end when a specific task is completed
- end when a specific event takes place
Fixed-term employees must receive the same treatment as full-time permanent staff.
As an employer, you can hire temporary staff through agencies. This means:
- you pay the agency, including the employee’s National Insurance contributions (NICs) and Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)
- it’s the agency’s responsibility to make sure workers get their rights under working time regulations
- you must make sure they can access your facilities (such as canteen and childcare facilities), and information on your job vacancies
- after 12 weeks continuous employment in the same role, agency workers get the same terms and conditions as permanent employees, including pay, working time, rest periods, night work, breaks, annual leave and maternity, paternity or adoption leave
- you must provide the agency with information about the relevant terms and conditions in your business so that they can ensure the worker gets equal treatment after 12 weeks in the same job
- you must allow agency workers to use any shared facilities (eg a staff cateen or childcare) and give them information about job vacancies from the first day they work there
- you are still responsible for their health and safety
If you hire a freelancer, consultant or contractor it means that:
- they are self-employed or are part of other companies
- they often look after their own tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs)
- they might not be entitled to the same rights as workers, eg minimum wage
- you’re still responsible for their health and safety
Zero hour contracts are usually for ‘piece work’ or ‘on call’ work, eg interpreters.
This means:
- they are on call to work when you need them
- you don’t have to give them work
- they don’t have to do work when asked
You are still responsible for health and safety (opens new window) of staff on zero hour contracts.
Family
If you hire family members you must:
- avoid special treatment in terms of pay, promotion and working conditions
- make sure tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs) are still paid
- follow working time regulations for younger family members
- have employer’s liability insurance that covers any young family members
Volunteers and voluntary staff
When taking on volunteers or voluntary staff you:
- are responsible for their health and safety (opens new window)
- must give inductions and training in the tasks they’re going to do
Young people
You can employ young people if they are 13 or over but there are special rules about how long they can work and what jobs they can do. Once someone is 18 they’re classed as an ‘adult worker’ and different rules apply.
As well as following these rules you must do a risk assessment before taking on young workers.
Young people may also have certain employment rights like:
- statutory maternity pay and ordinary statutory paternity pay if they qualify as a result of their continuous employment
- paid time off for study and training
- redundancy pay
Young workers and apprentices have different rates from adult workers for the National Minimum Wage. (opens new window)
Child employment
Part-time work
The youngest age a child can work part-time is 13, except children involved in areas like:
- television
- theatre
- modelling
Children working in these areas will need a performance licence.
Full-time work
Children can only start full-time work after the last Friday in June of the academic year when they turn 16. This is the minimum school leaving age.
After a child has reached the minimum school leaving age they can work up to a maximum of 40 hours a week.
School-aged children are not entitled to the National Minimum Wage. Young workers aged 16 to 17 are entitled to at least £3.68/hr.
Once someone reaches 18, adult employment rights and rules then apply.
Performance licences for children
Performance licences are issued by the local council.
Before giving a child a performance licence the council will talk to the headteacher of the child’s school. This is to make sure the child’s education won’t suffer if they work in TV, theatre or modelling.
Performance producers can apply for a performance licence online (opens new window).
Chaperones
A child taking part in a performance - including TV, film, theatre, paid sporting activities or modelling - has to have a chaperone with them.
You can find out about the chaperone service for child actors from your local council.
There are several restrictions on when and where children are allowed to work.
Children are not allowed to work:
- without an employment permit issued by the education department of the local council, if this is required by local bylaws
- in places like a factory or industrial site
- during school hours
- before 7am or after 7pm
- for more than one hour before school (unless local bylaws allow it)
- for more than 4 hours without taking a break of at least 1 hour
- in most jobs in pubs and betting shops and those prohibited in local bylaws
- in any work that may be harmful to their health, well-being or education
- without having a 2-week break from any work during the school holidays in each calendar year
Term time rules
During term time children can only work a maximum of 12 hours a week. This includes:
- a maximum of 2 hours on school days and Sundays
- a maximum of 5 hours on Saturdays for 13 to 14-year-olds, or 8 hours for 15 to 16-year-olds
School holiday rules
During school holidays 13 to 14-year-olds are only allowed to work a maximum of 25 hours a week. This includes:
- a maximum of 5 hours on weekdays and Saturdays
- a maximum of 2 hours on Sunday
During school holidays 15 to 16-year-olds can only work a maximum of 35 hours a week. This includes:
- a maximum of 8 hours on weekdays and Saturdays
- a maximum of 2 hours on Sunday
Local rules on the types of work children can do
Local bylaws list the jobs that children can’t do. If a job is on this list, a child under the minimum school leaving age can’t do this work.
Local bylaws may also have other restrictions on working hours, conditions of work and the type of employment.
Contact your local council’s (opens new window) education department or education welfare service for more information.
Most local councils say that businesses intending to employ school-aged children must apply for a child employment permit before they can be employed.
If a child is working without a child employment permit, there’s a risk that the employer won’t be insured against accidents involving the child.
Employers should contact their local council’s (opens new window) education department or education welfare service to find out if a child employment permit is needed.
