Topic
Hiring, managing staff, and employment law compliance
Every employer obligation from pre-hire through the first month of employment. Covers right to work checks, written statements of particulars, employers' liability insurance, PAYE registration, auto-enrolment pensions, and DBS checks where required.
Read guideGet a sponsor licence to hire skilled workers from outside the UK. Covers licence fees, salary thresholds, Immigration Skills Charge, Certificate of Sponsorship process, and compliance duties.
Read guideWhen and how to request Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks for employees. Includes check types, fees, regulated activity rules, and devolved nation differences.
Read guideYour legal duty to provide written employment terms. Covers the day-1 requirement, mandatory terms, contract types, zero-hours protections, and penalties for non-compliance.
Read guideYour legal duties under the Equality Act 2010 including protected characteristics, discrimination types, reasonable adjustments, harassment prevention, and the new Worker Protection Act 2023 duty to prevent sexual harassment.
Read guideWhat constitutes unfair dismissal, who can claim, and what compensation is available. Covers qualifying periods, automatically unfair reasons, time limits, ACAS early conciliation, and the tribunal claims process.
Read guideYour legal duties to provide equal pay for equal work under the Equality Act 2010. Covers like work, work rated as equivalent, work of equal value, comparators, defences, and gender pay gap reporting for larger employers.
Read guideHow to use settlement agreements to resolve employment disputes. Covers legal requirements, tax treatment of payments, ACAS early conciliation, employee rights, and negotiation process.
Read guideHow the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 protect employees when a business changes hands. Covers when TUPE applies, what rights transfer automatically, information and consultation requirements, ETO reasons for changes, and due diligence for buyers.
Read guideYour legal obligations when using agency workers, including day-1 rights, the 12-week qualifying period, and equal treatment requirements.
Read guideEverything you need to do before employing your first staff member.
Read guideHow to correctly determine whether someone is an employee, worker, or self-employed. Covers the key legal tests, IR35 implications for contractors, and how to use HMRC's CEST tool. Essential reading before engaging any worker.
Read guideYour legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment at work, effective from 26 October 2024. Covers the anticipatory duty, third-party harassment by customers and clients, risk assessment requirements, training obligations, and the 25% tribunal compensation uplift for breaching this duty.
Read guideHow unfair dismissal protection works for employers: the 6-month qualifying period, fire and rehire restrictions, removal of the compensation cap, and extended tribunal time limits. Includes compliance checklist and practical guidance.
Read guideDetailed guidance on fire and rehire restrictions under ERA 2025. Covers what constitutes fire and rehire, when the financial difficulties exception applies, and how to comply with the ACAS Code of Practice.
Read guideYour duties under the Equality Act 2010 to prevent workplace discrimination. Covers the nine protected characteristics, types of unlawful conduct, reasonable adjustments for disabled employees, and equal pay requirements.
Read guideYour legal duty under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments for disabled employees. Covers when the duty arises, what counts as reasonable, examples of adjustments, and how to access government funding through Access to Work.
Read guideChecklist of changes needed to employment contracts and written statements following the Employment Rights Act 2025. Covers the new trade union membership notification requirement, updated SSP and family leave entitlements, zero-hours contract terms, and revised dismissal and tribunal provisions.
Read guideOverview of trade union reform under the Employment Rights Act 2025, including workplace access rights, electronic balloting, simplified recognition, and the new requirement to include union membership information in written statements.
Read guideHow to conduct compliant right to work checks before employment begins. Includes acceptable documents, online checking service, follow-up requirements for time-limited workers, and civil penalties for non-compliance.
Read guideQuick reference comparing what agency workers are entitled to versus permanent employees.
Read guideHow to comply with zero-hours contract rules: guaranteed hours offers, shift notice requirements, and compensation for cancelled shifts. Includes compliance checklist and policy templates.
Read guideHow to sponsor skilled workers on the Scale-Up Visa route for high-growth businesses.
Read guideHow to conduct redundancy consultations properly. Covers collective consultation requirements, selection criteria, statutory redundancy pay, HR1 notification, and employee rights including time off for job hunting.
Read guideReference guide to Northern Ireland's separate anti-discrimination statutes. NI does not have the Equality Act 2010 -- instead, employers must comply with seven individual statutes covering religion, sex, race, disability, age, and sexual orientation, plus Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998.
Read guideHow to make employees redundant fairly and legally. Covers collective consultation requirements, fair selection criteria, statutory redundancy pay calculations for 2026/27, and Northern Ireland differences.
Read guideHow employment law in Northern Ireland differs from Great Britain. Covers the Orders in Council legislative framework, the absence of the Equality Act 2010, the role of the Labour Relations Agency, the Industrial Tribunal system, and why the Employment Rights Act 2025 does not extend to NI.
Read guideOverview of all 28 reforms in the Employment Rights Act 2025, with implementation timeline from April 2026 to 2028. Covers SSP, family leave, zero-hours contracts, unfair dismissal, fire and rehire, harassment, trade unions, the Fair Work Agency, collective redundancy, tribunal time limits, and equality action plans. Links to detailed topic guides.
Read guideHow Statutory Sick Pay works for employers: day-one eligibility, no waiting days, no lower earnings limit, and the percentage-based rate calculation. Includes payroll system requirements, rate calculation examples, and compliance checklist.
Read guideChecklist for implementing day-one paternity leave, unpaid parental leave, and bereavement leave entitlements under ERA 2025. Covers policy updates, HR system configuration, payroll requirements, and manager training.
Read guideStep-by-step guide to complying with fair employment monitoring obligations in Northern Ireland. If you employ 11 or more people, you must register with the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, monitor workforce community background, and submit an annual monitoring return. Failure to comply is a criminal offence.
Read guideLegal requirements for maximum working hours, rest breaks, and annual leave. Covers the 48-hour weekly limit, opt-out agreements, rest entitlements, night worker protections, and holiday pay calculations for employers.
Read guideWhat the Fair Work Agency is, what it enforces, and how to prepare. The FWA launched on 7 April 2026 as a single enforcement body for employment rights, bringing together the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate and the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority. HMRC's National Minimum Wage enforcement transfers to the FWA in April 2027.
Read guideHow TUPE regulations affect business acquisitions. Covers automatic employee transfers, protected terms, inherited liabilities, and consultation requirements.
Read guideHow to make employees redundant when closing your business. Covers statutory redundancy pay calculations, consultation requirements, notice periods, and what happens if your business becomes insolvent before you can pay employees.
Read guideA comprehensive guide to employer responsibilities across every stage of the employment relationship, from lawful advertising and recruitment through onboarding, day-to-day management, handling problems, and ending employment. Covers the Equality Act 2010, Acas Code of Practice, Employment Rights Act 2025 changes, and post-employment obligations.
Read guideHow to comply with strengthened harassment prevention duties from October 2026, including third-party harassment liability and 'all reasonable steps' requirements.
Read guideUpdated guidance on collective redundancy consultation following ERA 2025 changes, including doubled protective award and new organisation-wide threshold.
Read guideYour legal obligations when dealing with trade unions, including recognition, collective bargaining, time off rights, and industrial action.
Read guideRequirements under the ICE Regulations 2004 for informing and consulting employees about business decisions.
Read guideMandatory 0.5% payroll levy for employers with £3 million+ annual pay bill, how to use levy funds for apprenticeship training through the digital apprenticeship service, and significant reforms under the Growth and Skills Levy from April 2026.
Read guideQuick lookup of statutory paternity, adoption and shared parental leave entitlements and pay rates for the 2026/27 tax year. For the underlying procedures, follow the linked task guides.
Read guideIf you employ a nanny, carer, cleaner, housekeeper, gardener or driver in your home, you carry real employment duties. This guide walks you through PAYE registration, paying the National Minimum Wage, contracts, auto-enrolment, working time, health and safety, equality and data protection — and notes the key exemptions (employers' liability insurance and the fire safety order) that do not apply to domestic employers.
Read guideExplainer on the Shared Parental Leave framework. Covers what SPL is and is not, the curtailment-and-conversion mechanic, eligibility for both parents, the notice architecture, continuous and discontinuous bookings, redundancy protection, and the 6 April 2026 ERA 2025 change.
Read guideStep-by-step process for handling a Shared Parental Leave and Pay request. Covers eligibility, the binding curtailment notice, the Notice of Entitlement, period-of-leave bookings, and ShPP calculation and recovery.
Read guideHow to manage the dispute surface around Shared Parental Leave - curtailment-notice withdrawals, partner eligibility challenges, refusing discontinuous bookings correctly, and the HMRC and Employment Tribunal routes for ShPP and detriment claims.
Read guideStep-by-step employer task guide for processing statutory adoption leave and pay, including UK adoption, overseas adoption, surrogacy intended parents and foster-to-adopt placements.
Read guideStep-by-step task guide for processing a statutory paternity leave and pay request under the post-6-April-2024 regime (SI 2024/329). Covers eligibility, the 28-day notice rule, taking leave as one or two one-week blocks within 52 weeks of birth or placement, calculating SPP, EPS recovery, and the SPP1 refusal form.
Read guideAn overview of the four HMRC tax-advantaged employee share schemes (EMI, CSOP, SIP, and SAYE), helping employers understand which scheme suits their business, how the tax advantages work, and what is involved in setting up and running a scheme.
Read guideWhat to do when a current or former employee brings an employment tribunal claim against your business. Covers Acas early conciliation, the ET3 response, preparing for a hearing, and deciding whether to settle or defend.
Read guideEmployment agencies and employment businesses face sector-specific regulation on top of the universal workplace-safety spine. The Employment Agencies Act 1973 and the Conduct Regulations 2003 set conduct standards for every agency. The Agency Workers Regulations 2010 give temporary workers equal treatment after a 12-week qualifying period. And if you supply workers to agriculture, horticulture, shellfish gathering or associated food processing and packaging, you need a gangmasters licence.
Read guideUse this checklist to confirm you have met your obligations as a household employer (SIC division 97) before or shortly after your domestic employee starts work. Work through each item and answer yes or no. If you answer no, follow the linked guide before you proceed.
Read guideHow to meet the mandatory and encouraged Fair Work First criteria when applying for Scottish public sector grants or contracts.
Read guideA household that employs domestic staff — a nanny, carer, cleaner, gardener or driver — is an employer with real legal duties, even though the workplace is your home. This router sets out the obligations that apply and the key exemptions that do not.
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