the United Kingdom
Make employment in the United Kingdom easy. Let us handle payroll, benefits, taxes, compliance, and even stock options for your team in , all in one easy-to-use platform.
- Capital city
London
- Currency
Pound sterling (£, GBP)
- Languages
English
- Population size
67,886,004
Facts & Stats
- Capital city
London
- Currency
Pound sterling (£, GBP)
- Languages
English
- Population size
67,886,004
- Ease of doing business
Very easy
- Cost of living index
$$$$ (27 of 139 nations)
- Payroll frequency
Monthly
- VAT - standard rate
20%
- GDP - real growth rate
1.398% (2018 est.)
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK or U.K.) or Britain, is a sovereign country located off the northwestern coast of the European mainland. The United Kingdom has the world's sixth-largest economy by nominal gross domestic product (GDP), and the ninth-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). It has a high-income economy and a very high human development index rating, ranking 14th in the world.
Grow your team in United Kingdom with Remote
Employing in the United Kingdom requires employers to own a legal entity in the country and manage payroll, tax, benefits and compliance through their own in-country resources. The complexity of employment regulations in the UK makes full compliance with employment laws a burdensome process.
Through Remote’s Global Employer of Record solution, your team is employed by our local legal entities in each country, and we take care of payroll, tax, benefits and compliance so you can focus on what matters most -- your people.
Risks of misclassification
United Kingdom, like many other countries, treats self-employed individuals or contractors and full-time employees differently. Misclassification of contractors in United Kingdom may lead to fines and penalties for the offending company.
Employing in United Kingdom
People at work in the UK benefit from a minimum charter of employment rights, which are found in various Acts, Regulations, common law and equity. This includes the right to a minimum wage, paid holidays, break from work, limit to excessively long working hours, automatic enrolment in a basic occupational pension and provisions for leave.
The following are only guidelines in the broadest sense, and professional legal services are recommended when employing in the UK.
Minimum Wage
In the United Kingdom, the National Living Wage depends on the age of the worker. In April 2022, the national minimum wages were updated to the following hourly rates:
23 and over: £9.50
21 to 22: £9.18
18 to 20: £6.83
Under 18: £4.81
Apprentice: £4.81
Payroll Cycle
For customers of Remote, all employee payments will be made in equal monthly installments on or before the last working day of each calendar month, payable in arrears.
Onboarding Time
We can help you get a new employee started in the United Kingdom fast. The minimum onboarding time we need is only 2 working days.
Our team ensures your employees are onboarded and paid as quickly as possible while keeping your business compliant with all local employment legislation. The minimum onboarding time begins after the employee submits all required information onto the Remote platform. The onboarding timeline is also dependent upon registration with local authorities.
For all non-nationals of the country of employment, the Right to Work assessment (if applicable) will add three extra days to the total time to onboard. There may be extra time required if we need to follow-up on the right to work assessment.
Please note, payroll cut-off dates can impact the actual first day of employment. Remote has a payroll cut-off date of the 10th of the month unless otherwise specified.
7 Public holidays
Competitive benefits package in the United Kingdom
Remote supports our clients by offering competitive benefits packages that will help you attract and retain the best talent across the globe! Our benefits specialists have done the research on norms and requirements in each local market and have crafted packages that will allow your employees to thrive, no matter what country they live in.
Our benefits packages in the United Kingdom are tailored to fulfil the local needs of your employees. Typically, our packages contain some or all of the following benefits:
Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
Mental Health Support
Pension or 401(K)
Life and Disability Insurance
Local market insights
In the United Kingdom, 90%* of employers offer supplemental health insurance to their workforce. (*based on 3rd-party market research from our partners)
Although the country has a strong social system, supplemental health insurance provides employees with access to a wider range of options for providers and specialists, as well as significantly shorter wait times. Our plans also offer global coverage (excluding the US) to protect your employees when they are traveling outside their home country.
Our core benefits (which often include things like healthcare) are required in most countries where we hire. Because Remote is the employer of record, it’s important for us to offer the same core benefits to all employees in a country to ensure fair equity and non-discriminatory hiring practices, which protects your business and ours. Note that we do not add a markup on any benefits premiums or administration costs.
If you'd like specific information about our benefits packages in the UK, start onboarding your first employee with Remote today.
For more insight into fair equity and benefits best practices, download our Global Benefits Guide and share with the rest of your hiring team.
Taxes in United Kingdom
Learn how employment taxes and statutory fees affect your payroll and your employees’ paychecks in United Kingdom.
Minimum 4% - Pension Fund
13.80%* - National Insurance Rate (*0 for weekly salary payments up to 758)
£60.32 - Employer Liability Insurance
0.49%
Monthly Apprentice Levy (recharged as a percentage of gross pay)
Types of Leave
Full-time workers in the UK are entitled to 28 total working days of annual leave. These often include the 8 public/bank holidays which would otherwise be unpaid.
Employment termination
Termination process
Termination from the employer valid grounds with any fair reasons. There are five potentially fair reasons for dismissals::
Employee's capability or qualifications for performing work of the kind the employee was employed to do;
Employee conduct;
Employee redundancy;
Employee could not continue work in position without contravening statutory duty or restriction; or
Other substantial reason justifying dismissal
Notice period
Notice period depends on the length of the employment relationship and is different depending on if the notice is being given by the employer and the employee.
From the employer, the minimum notice periods are as follows:
For employment from 1 month to less than 2 years: 1 week
For employment from 2 years to less than 12 years: 1 week per year of employment
For employment of 12 years or more: 12 weeks
From the employee, the minimum notice period is 1 week where an employee has been employed for a month or more.
Probation periods
There is no legal stipulation for minimum and maximum probation periods. Employers can set probationary periods in the employment contract. It is typical for a probationary period to last no longer than six months, and three months where an employee is moving to a new post internally.