Continuous employment meaning

Preparatory steps Secure the employee’s most recent employment contract, together with any variations, related correspondence forming part of the contract, and any company handbook considered contractual Verify the employee’s continuous service particulars, including the employment start date and the dates of any contract amendments during employment Gather pension details: whether the scheme is defined benefit or defined contribution, and whether all employer contributions are fully up to date Identify the basis for the settlement-e.g., in respect of a Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) claim, a redundancy payment, a personal injury claim, or another legal claim Where multiple claims are being resolved, ensure agreement with the employer on how the overall settlement is apportioned to each claim, and that both parties clearly understand the tax treatment of each amount Ascertain any shares or share option schemes held by the employee, paying close attention to any definitions relating to leaver status that apply...

In this issue: Employment taxes Companies and corporation tax VAT Budgets and Finance Bills International Real estate tax Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Employment taxes Court of Appeal dismisses ‘discontinuous contract of employment’ while confirming need for causal link to carelessness for extension of assessment timeframe (Mainpay Ltd v HMRC) In Mainpay Ltd v HMRC [2025] EWCA Civ 1290, the Court of Appeal confirmed that extended assessment time limits apply where there is carelessness, and held that sporadic work under one contract is not continuous employment. HMRC was required to demonstrate a sufficient causal connection between taxpayer carelessness and the tax lost to justify using the longer time limits, and in this instance it satisfied that requirement. See News Analysis: Court of Appeal dismisses ‘discontinuous contract of employment’ while confirming need for causal link to carelessness for extension of assessment timeframe...

In this issue: Key developments UK immigration control: how it works Sponsored work Business, investment and non-sponsored employment Family routes Long residence, discretion and human rights Citizenship applications Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Key developments Future developments—Immigration calendar Please note: our Immigration calendar highlights forthcoming milestones relevant to business immigration advisers. UK immigration control: how it works Statement of changes in Immigration Rules, HC 836—analysis The Lexis+® UK Immigration team summarises the principal updates in HC 836, issued on 24 June 2025. The standout reform concerns the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) continuous residence test: those with pre-settled status will no longer need unbroken residence in the UK from the end of the transition period to secure settled status, provided they have completed 30 months’ residence within the last 60 months. This addresses a persistent worry for many EEA nationals and their family members who had not appreciated...

In this issue: Key developments UK immigration control: how it operates Sponsored work Students Long residence, discretion and human rights EU law rights and the EU Settlement Scheme Challenging immigration decisions and enforcement Preventing illegal working Citizenship applications Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Latest Q&A Key developments Future developments—Immigration calendar Note that our Immigration calendar highlights key forthcoming changes for business immigration advisers. High Court discharges MOD super-injunction on Afghan data breach after independent review The High Court has lifted a super-injunction that had prevented any disclosure of a major data leak affecting Afghan relocation applicants. The incident, dating to early 2022, saw the unauthorised release of personal data and contact details for more than 33,000 people who had sought to move to the UK following the Taliban’s 2021 takeover. The Ministry of Defence obtained the order on 1 September 2023 after parts of the...

This Practice Note considers the eligibility criteria for indefinite leave to remain under the Tier 1 (Investor) category. The Tier 1 (Investor) category closed to fresh applications, without notice, from 16.00 on 17 February 2022 through Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules CP 632. Holders of existing leave on this route may still prolong their permission, including applying for entry clearance from outside the UK where they have held Tier 1 (Investor) leave at any point in the 12-month period before the application date, and may pursue settlement. Requests to extend, whether made inside or outside the UK, must be filed by 17 February 2026. Applications for indefinite leave to remain must be submitted before 17 February 2028. Specific timings for each cohort are outlined below. In line with other pre-simplification ‘legacy’ routes—and particularly as this route was partly closed due to concerns it enabled the movement of illicitly obtained wealth—both extension and settlement applications are expected to attract rigorous scrutiny. For more on the closure, see: LNB News...

The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE 2006), SI 2006/246, confers extra protection on employees when a dismissal arises in the context of a transfer. EU‑sourced legislation, including much of TUPE 2006, enacted to give effect to the UK’s obligations under EU law (for example, Directive 2001/23/EC, the Acquired Rights Directive (ARD)), and still applicable in the UK at the end of the Brexit transition period/IP completion day, continues in force as assimilated law. For further information, see Practice Note: Assimilated law. Enhanced protection against dismissal An individual benefits from this enhanced protection only if they can pursue an unfair dismissal claim—meaning they must be an employee (see Practice Note: Employee status) with the required two years’ continuous employment. For further information, see Practice Note: Entitlement to claim unfair dismissal...

ARCHIVED: This archived Practice Note is not maintained and is for background information only. UPDATE (5/11/20): The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, announced in a statement to the House of Commons on Thursday 5 November 2020 that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) furlough arrangement would be extended. Consequently, the Jobs Retention Bonus (JRB) will not be paid in February 2021 and the government intends to redeploy a retention incentive at an appropriate point. See the HM Treasury press release: Government extends Furlough to March and increases self-employed support and the HMRC policy paper: Extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. For additional details, see Practice Note: Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (extended version 1 November 2020 to 30 April 2021) [Archived]. This Practice Note was revised to capture these changes. This Practice Note considers the Coronavirus Job Retention Bonus Scheme (CJRBS), announced in July 2020, which provides a one-off payment of £1,000 to employers for each employee previously claimed for under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS)...

Employee name: Employment commencement date and present length of service [ Insert date ] [ Insert length of service ] Job role: Division/Department Assessed by: Assessment date: Role: Approved by: Date: Role: Guidance: When using the criteria (other than disciplinary history), reasonable adjustments might be required for workers with a disability (as set out in the Equality Act 2010, s 6) where not doing so would put them at a significant disadvantage compared with non-disabled colleagues. This exception does not extend to disciplinary records. Service refers to continuous employment with the company and any linked company. Service includes transferred service within associated companies. If the worker has under 12 months’ service, convert the absence record to an annualised figure. Annualisation ensures a balanced and like-for-like assessment. Disregard the following absences: These must be excluded from absence calculations. absences linked to a disability (as defined by Equality Act 2010, s 6); maternity...

Contract of employment dated [ insert date ] Parties 1 [ Name of Employer ] [ of [ insert address ] OR a company incorporated in [ England and Wales ] (registered number [ insert number ]) whose registered office is at [ insert address ] ] (we or us); and 2 [ Name of employee ] of [ insert address ] (you). 1 Appointment 1.1 We agree to employ you in line with the terms and conditions contained in this agreement herein. 1.2 [ [ Option 1: Continuity (no previous PERIOD of employment counts): ] Your employment with us under this agreement hereunder [ will commence OR commenced ] on [ insert date ] (the 'Start Date'). Your continuous employment with us [ commenced on OR will commence on ] the Start Date, and no service with any earlier employer is treated as part of your continuous employment with us. OR 1.3 [ Option 2: Continuity...

Contract of employment dated [ insert date ] Parties [ Name of Employer ] [ of [ insert address ] OR a company incorporated in [ Scotland ] (registered number [ insert number ]) whose registered office is at [ insert address ] ] (we or us); [ Name of employee ] of [ insert address ] (you). Appointment 1.1 We will employ you in line with the terms and conditions contained in this contract. 1.2 [ [ Option 1: Continuity (no earlier period of employment counts): ] Your employment with us under this contract [ will commence OR commenced ] on [ insert date ] (the 'Start Date'). Your period of continuous employment with us [ commenced on OR will commence on ] the Start Date, and no employment with any previous employer counts towards your period of continuous employment with us. OR 1.3 [ Option 2: Continuity (previous period of employment counts): ] Your employment with us...

For the purposes of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996), an individual’s employment with a specific employer is assumed to have been continuous unless the opposite is demonstrated...

If an employee dismissed by reason of redundancy is invited to return to their former post, or to take up another position (with the same employer or an associated employer), and they resume work within four weeks of the previous employment ending, they are treated as not dismissed and have no entitlement to a redundancy payment (section 138(1) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996)). For more detail, see Practice Note: Renewal of contract, re-engagement and trial periods. On whether an employee’s continuity of employment is preserved during the interval between the old role ending and the new role commencing in those circumstances, see, generally, the following Practice Notes: Continuity of employment How to determine continuity of employment Working out an employee’s period of continuous employment with an employer is relevant to qualifying for certain statutory rights under the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996). There is a prescribed approach to calculating continuity that overrides any agreement between employer and...

Statutory holiday entitlement Under the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR 1998), SI 1998/1833, workers have a right to 5.6 weeks’ paid annual leave, comprising: a core statutory entitlement of four weeks’ annual leave each leave year, giving effect to Directive 2003/88/EC, the Working Time Directive (WTD) an extra entitlement of 1.6 weeks’ statutory annual leave each leave year Under WTR 1998, SI 1998/1833, reg 16, a week’s pay must be determined in line with sections 221, 222, 223 and 224 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996), subject to the modifications set out in WTR 1998, SI 1998/1833, reg 16(3). For further information, see Practice Notes: Holiday and Holiday pay...