Hours & leave
Working Time Regulations: hours, rest breaks and leave
A signed opt-out can lift the 48-hour weekly average. It cannot erase your right to rest or the separate rules for night work.
UK employment rights, in plain English
Know where you stand at work.
Clear guides to pay, leave, contracts, dismissal and discrimination. Each one is dated, written for people rather than lawyers, and linked to the law it rests on.
Popular: Notice periods Redundancy Holiday pay Sick pay
Find your situation
What is happening at work?
- 01I have been dismissedCan they let me go like this?
- 02I am at risk of redundancyWhat am I owed, and what must they do?
- 03My pay looks wrongMinimum wage, overtime, deductions.
- 04I am off sickSick pay, fit notes, getting back.
- 05I am pregnant or a new parentLeave, pay and protection from unfair treatment.
- 06I am being treated unfairlyDiscrimination, harassment, bullying.
- 07They want to change my contractVariations, employer duties, zero hours.
- 08I am handing in my noticeHow much notice, and what happens to holiday.
Browse by topic
Nine hubs, 223 guides
- 18 guides Pay & benefits Minimum wage, sick pay, overtime, pensions and getting paid correctly. Open hub →
- 32 guides Hours & leave Working time, breaks, holiday, family leave and flexible working. Open hub →
- 22 guides Contracts & status Employee, worker or self-employed; contracts, zero hours and agency work. Open hub →
- 29 guides Discrimination & equality Protected characteristics, harassment, equal pay and reasonable adjustments. Open hub →
- 45 guides Health & safety Risk, injury, stress, hazards and what employers must do about them. Open hub →
- 31 guides Discipline & termination Disciplinaries, dismissal, redundancy, notice and settlement agreements. Open hub →
- 23 guides Unions & employee voice Joining a union, recognition, collective bargaining and whistleblowing. Open hub →
- 17 guides Compliance & enforcement Tribunals, Acas, enforcement bodies and what happens when rules are broken. Open hub →
- 6 guides Specific work situations Remote work, gig work, apprentices, and rules that depend on your job. Open hub →
Start here
Featured guides
Hours & leave
Working time records: what must employers keep?
Your employer must keep enough evidence to prove your hours and pay. Start your own shift log today, especially if overtime, breaks or travel time go missing.
Compliance & enforcement
Employment Rights Act 2025: what’s in force?
Sick pay and family leave have changed. Most GB tribunal deadlines are now six months minus a day, but the shorter unfair-dismissal qualifying period starts in January.
Hours & leave
Holiday pay: how much should you get?
Check how much leave you earn and what your holiday pay should include. We explain the rules in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Compliance & enforcement
Employer obligations in the UK: what you must do
Your duties when you hire someone, how employment status affects their rights, and which 2026-27 reforms are already law.
Calculators
Put a number on it
- Notice periodHow much notice you owe or are owed, and the date employment ends.Open calculator →
- Holiday entitlementDays of paid leave for any pattern: part-year, part-time or irregular hours.Open calculator →
- Statutory Sick PayWhat you should be paid from your first sick day, and for how long.Open calculator →
- Redundancy payThe tax-free lump sum the law guarantees, year by year.Open calculator →
2026–27 reform tracker
The Employment Rights Act 2025, phase by phase
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In force
Tribunal claim limits change
Many three-month limits became six months where the relevant date is on or after today. Earlier events do not acquire extra time.
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Next up
Harassment and trade union rights scheduled
Stronger harassment prevention and third-party protections, union access and representative rights are due to start.
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Scheduled
Unfair dismissal reforms scheduled
The qualifying period falls to six months and the ordinary compensatory-award cap disappears for dismissals with an effective termination date from this day. Fire-and-rehire protections and…
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Date to be set
Bereavement leave scheduled
The government plans a day-one right for employees in Great Britain to take up to two weeks of unpaid leave for specified family bereavements and pregnancy…
Drawn from the reform tracker, which gives each change its date, who it affects and the source.
How we work
A guide you can check
- 1Dated
Every guide shows when it was last reviewed, and figures carry the date they took effect.
- 2Sourced
Claims link to legislation.gov.uk, GOV.UK, Acas or nidirect, with a sources list at the foot.
- 3Plain
Worked examples for money and time, and a clear line between what is in force and what is coming.