Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Wages definition

What does Wages mean? Wages describes the sums a worker is entitled to be paid for work done and related entitlements. In the UK, it is a statutory concept: for the unlawful deductions regime and payment issues, the Employment Rights Act 1996 (s.27) defines wages broadly as sums payable by the employer in connection with the worker’s employment, including salary, fees, bonuses, commission and holiday pay, whether contractual or otherwise. It generally excludes expenses, pensions, redundancy payments and most benefits in kind. When an amount becomes “properly payable” depends on the contract and timing provisions. This definition underpins unlawful deduction from wages claims, drafting and...

Employment pay: common law duties, statutory rights, absence and suspension, industrial action, deductions, itemised pay statements and remedies

Published by a LexisNexis Employment expert

Practice notes

This Practice Note explores the nature of pay, covering the Employer’s obligation to provide Wages or salary, the work/wages bargain, and the impact of sickness, unwillingness to work and other reasons for absence. It also considers how wage levels are regulated and sets out an Employee’s right to an itemised pay statement, together with remedies where wages are not paid.

Interaction of common law and statutory rights

At its core, employment is an exchange: pay in return for work. An employer’s duty to give consideration for an individual’s labour and skill, by way of wages or other remuneration, is generally treated as a fundamental term of the contract of employment, as recognised in Ready-Mixed Concrete (see Practice Note: Employee status—Determining whether an individual is an employee: overview).

Duty to pay wages

There is a duty to pay wages whenever an employee is ready, willing and able to work. For fuller detail on how this principle operates in practice, see Ready and willing to work, below...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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