Working time meaning

The early conciliation (EC) requirement The early conciliation (EC) requirement—sometimes referred to as mandatory Acas early conciliation—obliges a would‑be claimant to give Acas specified details, including certain information, before issuing an employment tribunal claim, as provided by section 18A(1) of the Employment Tribunals Act 1996 (ETA 1996). For more detail, see Practice Note: The early conciliation requirement. This Checklist explains which claims constitute ‘relevant proceedings’, and identifies those that are caught by the early conciliation requirement either because of: ETA 1996, s 18(1A), or a specific provision in the applicable legislation For guidance on relevant proceedings, see Practice Note: The early conciliation requirement—Relevant proceedings. Where a prospective claimant satisfies the early conciliation requirement, there is, in almost all cases, a statutory extension to the usual deadline within which a claim must be presented to an employment tribunal. This Checklist also indicates where the operative extension provisions on time limits are located, and highlights categories of proceedings to which those extension provisions...

SM&CR Compliance—Checklist Note: On 15 July 2025, the government announced the Leeds Reforms, which include plans to streamline the SM&CR. At the same time, the PRA and FCA published consultation papers CP18/25 and CP25/21. The regulators propose a two-stage reform, with Phase Two to follow, subject to legislative changes under HM Treasury consultation. Final Phase One requirements are expected mid-2026, with any Phase Two consultations dependent on HMT legislation. See News Analysis: Reform of the SM&CR—Proposals and next steps. Overview The Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR) is the UK framework governing individuals working in financial services. It aims to widen personal liability, prioritising senior management accountability and fostering a firm-wide culture of responsibility to reduce consumer harm and reinforce market integrity. The regime comprises: Senior Managers Regime (SMR) – ensures Senior Managers can be held to account for misconduct within their remits. Certification Regime – applies standards of conduct to individuals working in financial services. Conduct Rules – set conduct...

Contracting-out provisions Most claims pursued in the employment tribunal arise from a jurisdiction conferred by statutory measures. Each such statutory scheme typically includes a clause preventing the parties (or prospective parties) to a tribunal dispute from concluding an arrangement that purports to settle the claim and, by doing so, purports to displace the employment tribunal’s authority to decide the dispute. These clauses are commonly known as 'contracting-out provisions', and they appear, in broadly similar terms, across a wide range of employment legislation, eg the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996), the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULR(C)A 1992) and the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010). The aim of these provisions is to protect claimants (or potential claimants) by ensuring they do not sign away the right to commence or continue a claim without appropriate safeguards being observed. The fundamental position is that any agreement reached between persons which purports to stop an individual from making, or proceeding with, a claim to an employment tribunal is void...

Interim payment process in the NEC4 Engineering and Construction contract—flowchart HGCRA 1996 applies — option Y(UK)2 selected...

In this issue: Key developments and materials Electricity and gas market regulation, licensing and taxation Renewable energy Capacity Market, balancing services and energy system flexibility Hydrogen, CCUS and emerging technologies Nuclear energy Planning issues in energy projects Air emissions, efficiency, and climate change New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Energy resources on Lexis+® Daily and weekly news alerts Key developments and materials DESNZ announces accelerated measures to boost UK energy security DESNZ has unveiled a suite of actions to reinforce and speed up the UK’s energy security in light of events in the Middle East. For the first time, ‘plug-in solar’ will be permitted in the UK. The department plans to advance the next annual renewables auction to July 2026 and has confirmed that the government will adopt the Fingleton Review’s recommendations to hasten delivery of nuclear power stations. It has also moved to safeguard consumers, working...

In this issue Working time and flexible working Pay Tax Prohibited conduct (discrimination etc) Employment tribunal equality claims Diversity and gender pay gap Industrial action Unfair dismissal Employment tribunals Immigration Northern Ireland ESG and sustainability: employment issues Daily and weekly news alerts Dates for your diary Trackers New Q&As Working time and flexible working Code of Practice (Requests for Flexible Working) Order 2024 (SI 2024/429): The Order designates 6 April 2024 as the date on which the updated Code of Practice on handling requests for flexible working, issued by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) under section 199 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULR(C)A 1992), takes effect. It also clarifies that the revised Code does not cover applications for flexible working made under section 80F of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996) that are lodged on or before 5 April 2024;...

In this edition: Employment contract Pay Protected characteristics Prohibited conduct (discrimination etc) Prohibited conduct protection at work Equality of terms (equal pay) Employment Appeal Tribunal Governance and regulatory Immigration Dates for your diary Trackers New Q&As Employment resources on Lexis+® Daily and weekly news alerts Employment contract UKSC upholds claimants’ appeal and restores injunction in Tesco ‘fire and rehire’ case In Tesco Stores Ltd v Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) [2024] UKSC 28, Tesco moved to end employees’ contracts to remove their ‘retained pay’—a contractual financial entitlement accepted as permanent—and to offer re-engagement on new terms excluding that pay. Working with the union, USDAW, several employees obtained a High Court injunction restraining Tesco from dismissing them in order to take away the retained pay entitlement. The Court of Appeal, however, allowed Tesco’s appeal against that order. The Supreme Court has since backed the claimants’ appeal and...

As of 31 January 2020, the UK left the EU and the EEA. This Practice Note introduces: the General Data Protection Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (EU GDPR) framework (which applied within UK law up to the end of the Brexit implementation period—11 pm UK time on 31 December 2020—and continues to operate across the EEA; therefore, any references in this Practice Note to EEA or EU states should be read as also covering the UK until that period concluded) the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation, Retained Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (UK GDPR) framework (which applies under UK law from the end of the Brexit implementation period) Where there is no need to draw a distinction, this Practice Note refers to both as ‘GDPR’ for ease. When looking at the routine processing of personal data, the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018) should be consulted together, as both sets of provisions have direct effect. Practitioners will generally...

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is archived and not being maintained. It reviews the Employment Rights Act 1996 (Coronavirus, Calculation of a Week’s Pay) Regulations 2020 (Week’s Pay Amendment Regs 2020), SI 2020/814, which ensure that employees furloughed under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) for any period ending on or before 30 September 2021 receive statutory redundancy pay, statutory notice pay and other entitlements by reference to their usual earnings rather than the reduced furlough rate. For details on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), extended to 30 September 2021, see Practice Note: Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (extended version 1 May to 30 September 2021) [Archived]. For general guidance on working out a week’s pay under sections 221–224 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996), see Practice Note: Calculating a week’s pay. The Employment Rights Act 1996 (Coronavirus, Calculation of a Week’s Pay) Regulations 2020 (Week’s Pay Amendment Regs 2020), SI 2020/814, which took effect on 31 July 2020, prescribe how a week’s pay is to...

Statutory paid holiday In Great Britain, workers have a legal entitlement to 5.6 weeks’ paid annual leave under the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR 1998), SI 1998/1833. It should be recognised from the start that this is made up of two components: a core entitlement of four weeks’ paid annual leave (often called ‘Euro leave’) (WTR 1998, SI 1998/1833, reg 13), and an extra 1.6 weeks’ paid annual leave (WTR 1998, SI 1998/1833, reg 13A) Different rules apply to irregular hours and part-year workers for holiday years beginning on or after 1 April 2024. For further details, see Practice Note: Statutory paid holiday—irregular hours workers and part-year workers. For the position in Northern Ireland, which has its own Working Time Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016, SI 2016/49, see Practice Note: Employment law in Northern Ireland—Working Time Regulations and holidays. The basic four-week entitlement reflects the UK’s implementation of the EU minimum in Article 7 of Directive 2003/88/EC (the Working Time Directive),...

1 Introduction This role description and profile concerns the combined post of Deputy Money Laundering Compliance Officer (MLCO) and Deputy nominated officer (nominated officer). Any references to MLR 2017 relate to the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017, SI 2017/692, as amended. 2 MLCO/nominated officer role holder details Firm name [ Insert firm name ] Name of Deputy MLCO/nominated officer [ Insert name ] Reports to: MLCO/nominated officer [ Insert name of MLCO/nominated officer ] Working pattern ☐ Full time ☐ Part time Details of any additional positions within the firm [ Insert details ] Date of appointment by the firm [ Insert date ] 3 Role summary 3.1 Serve as deputy to the firm’s MLCO/nominated officer...

1 Introduction 1.1 Keeping corporate records in an orderly and dependable manner is vital to meet our statutory and regulatory duties, for example concerning data protection, taxation and employment. Doing so also lowers costs and mitigates the risks of holding superfluous information. 1.2 This records management policy guides staff in the correct handling of [ insert organisation name ]’s records. It explains: 1.2.1 the meaning of records; 1.2.2 the methods for classifying and storing records; 1.2.3 the retention periods for different categories of record; 1.2.4 the approach to disposing of records. 2 Responsibility and application 2.1 [ Insert name, department or role holder ] has overall responsibility for this policy. 2.2 This policy covers everyone working for us, including employees, temporary and agency workers, other contractors, interns and volunteers. All staff must read and follow it. 2.3 This policy is not a term of any employment contract and [ insert organisation name ] may add to...

[ insert date of letter ] [ insert name of employee ] [ insert address of employee ] Dear [ insert name of employee ] [ insert name of Company ] (the Company ) I am pleased to inform you that the directors of the Company have authorised the award of an enterprise management incentives (EMI) option ( Option ) to you. Enclosed is a copy of the option agreement, which must be signed by you and the Company for the grant of the Option to become effective. The Option gives you the right to purchase [ insert maximum number and class of shares which can be exercised pursuant to the Option agreement ] shares in the Company ( Shares ) at a price of [ insert exercise price of shares ] per Share [ upon an ‘Exit’ event of the Company (which broadly means a takeover of the Company [ , an asset sale or a listing of its shares ] [ , a...

Under WTR 1998, workers get 5.6 weeks’ annual leave each year: a basic entitlement of four weeks’ leave (20 days for a standard full‑time worker) implementing article 7 of the Working Time Directive (WTD) an additional 1.6 weeks’ leave (eight days for a standard full‑time worker) created by domestic law only Understanding this distinction is important because: European Court of Justice case law concerns the WTD alone, so it applies only to the basic four weeks’ paid leave holiday pay is calculated differently for: the basic four weeks, and the additional 1.6 weeks The general rules as to the right to carry forward accrued holiday entitlement are that: the basic four weeks must be taken in the leave year earned and cannot be carried over (though an employer may choose to allow it) a relevant agreement may allow the additional 1.6...

Weekly rest periods Under the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR 1998), SI 1998/1833, reg 11(1), an adult worker has a right to an unbroken rest period of at least 24 hours in each seven-day period during which they work for their employer. Alternatively, within any 14-day window, the employer can provide either two 24-hour rest periods, or one 48-hour rest period. The Health & Safety Executive is tasked with enforcing the maximum weekly working time, limits on night work and health assessments for night work, but it does not police time off, paid annual leave or rest break entitlements. These rights are instead enforced by workers through a complaint under WTR 1998, SI 1998/1833, reg 30, alleging that the employer has failed to allow the exercise of the relevant entitlement. For further detail, see the section of the Practice Note: Hours of work and working time titled ‘Weekly rest periods’. The drafting of WTR 1998, SI 1998/1833, reg 11 is couched in terms of entitlement rather than obligation; ie...

This Q&A assumes that the employee is employed on a permanent employment contract, rather than a temporary employment contract. If the employee is on a permanent contract that specifies term-time only hours, their employment still clearly continues throughout the holidays up to the relevant termination date. Under this type of arrangement, pay for the weeks worked during term time, together with any holiday pay, is usually, in practice, distributed or averaged out over the entire 12 months. See, for instance, clause 2 of Precedent: Clauses—term-time working...