Employment law compliance checklist for small employers

A care firm with six staff still owes you pay for travel between visits. A cafe cannot keep your holiday pay because cash is tight. Small employers have legal duties, and a tidy handbook proves little if your payslip is wrong. This checklist starts with what you are owed, then shows how to check it.

Start with your own records

Put your contract, payslips and rotas beside each other. Does the pay cover the hours you actually worked? Does the holiday record match the leave you took? Keep dated messages about deductions, sickness and travel. Save your own evidence somewhere you can access after leaving, without taking clients’ or colleagues’ private information.

This guide covers Great Britain law in force on 1 October 2026, with a separate Northern Ireland section. Future reforms are labelled as scheduled. Use it to identify gaps, not to replace advice on a dismissal, disputed status or cross-border contract.

Written terms, checks, pensions and insurance

Your employer must give employees and workers the principal written statement on or before their first day. The wider statement is due within two months. A written statement records the terms; it is not the whole employment contract. The GOV.UK guidance on written particulars sets out what belongs in each part.

Check your status before assuming which rights apply

Your contract’s label does not settle your status. Tribunals examine the actual relationship, including control, personal service and any genuine right to send a substitute. A zero-hours contract can be an employment contract. Agency and gig arrangements need the same factual examination. See employee, worker or self-employed status.

Some agency workers meet SSP’s separate employee test. Genuinely self-employed people do not get minimum wage or paid holiday, but safety duties and some discrimination protections still apply. Get advice before accepting a “self-employed” label for work on the company’s rota under its supervisor.

Pay for the work you actually do

From 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027, the hourly minimums are £12.71 for workers aged 21 and over, £10.85 for ages 18 to 20, and £8.00 for under-18s above school-leaving age. The £8.00 apprentice rate applies only to apprentices under 19, or aged 19 and over in their first apprenticeship year. Older apprentices who have completed that year get their age rate. Employer-provided accommodation has a special offset of £11.10 a day. See minimum wage rates and rights.

Payslips must arrive on or before payday and show hours where pay varies by time worked. Add work the rota misses. Travel between care visits and required training count for minimum wage. Uniform costs can reduce the pay that counts. Ordinary commuting, freely usable gaps and contractual deductions need separate treatment. Productive work during a supposed unpaid trial deserves a pay check.

HMRC can require minimum wage arrears and a penalty of up to 200%, capped at £20,000 per worker, with public naming. Calculate the pay shortfall before rounding an effective hourly rate. Rounding first loses money in Amara’s example.

Tips and service charges

Tips cannot make up minimum wage. In Great Britain, employer-controlled or significantly influenced tips must be shared fairly, without deductions other than usual tax and National Insurance, by the end of the month after receipt. The Acas tipping guidance explains policy and record duties. Using a tronc does not excuse unfair allocation. Stronger consultation rules are scheduled by the end of 2026.

Hours and rest

Most adult workers have a 48-hour average weekly limit, usually over 17 weeks, unless they agree a valid written opt-out. Usual rest rights are an uninterrupted 20-minute break for a working day exceeding six hours, 11 hours daily rest, and 24 hours weekly rest or 48 hours over a fortnight. Some jobs have exceptions and compensatory rest rules. The weekly opt-out does not waive all rest rights; young workers have stricter rules. See working time and rest.

Holiday, sickness and family leave

Employees and workers normally get 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday for a full leave year. The statutory entitlement is capped at 28 days for someone working five or more days a week. Part-time staff get the equivalent in their working pattern, not an automatic 28 days. Contracts may give more.

For legally defined irregular-hours and part-year workers, leave years beginning on or after 1 April 2024 use 12.07% accrual on hours worked in each pay period. Employers can choose rolled-up holiday pay for these groups, paid as a separate addition to wages. They cannot use it for everyone or use it to deny time off. Where the 52-week holiday-pay reference method applies, use the relevant paid weeks, exclude the required absences and look back no more than 104 weeks. Leave entitlement and holiday pay are different calculations.

The government’s holiday guidance explains the definitions and calculations. See also how much holiday pay you should get.

Sick pay from the first qualifying day

From 6 April 2026, eligible employees get Statutory Sick Pay without waiting days or a lower earnings threshold. The weekly amount is the lower of £123.25 and 80% of average weekly earnings, for up to 28 weeks. SSP is paid for qualifying days, not automatically for every calendar day. You must have started work and meet the SSP eligibility conditions; some agency workers qualify too.

Tell your employer promptly and keep the message. If payroll still applies waiting days or rejects you solely for low earnings, ask it to correct the calculation. See the SSP guide.

Leave entitlement does not guarantee statutory pay

Employees can take up to 52 weeks’ maternity leave without a service qualifying period. Statutory Maternity Pay has separate conditions and lasts up to 39 weeks. The official pay rules give 90% of average weekly earnings for the first six weeks, then the lower of £194.32 or 90% for the next 33 weeks. Payroll must not cap the first six weeks at £194.32.

From April 2026, statutory paternity, shared parental and parental bereavement pay have a standard weekly rate of £194.32, or 90% of average weekly earnings if lower, subject to their own eligibility rules. Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave became day-one employee rights on 6 April 2026; that does not make their pay a day-one entitlement. Neonatal care leave of up to 12 weeks has applied since April 2025, subject to the scheme’s conditions. Eligible employees can also take one week of unpaid carer’s leave a year.

Include adoption leave and pay in the audit too. Check each scheme’s notice, service and pay conditions rather than assuming every family entitlement follows the maternity rules.

Flexible working is a day-one employee right to request, not a right to have the request granted. You can make two statutory requests in 12 months. The employer must decide within two months, including any appeal unless you agree an extension, and can refuse only on a statutory business ground. See requesting flexible working.

Run an audit that checks actual treatment

Start with the underlying records. Software calculates only the hours entered into it. Workers can use these checks to identify what to ask payroll or their union.

1. List everyone doing the work. Include temps, leavers and people labelled freelancers. Record start dates, actual arrangements and who pays them. Check status and written terms.
2. Reconcile payroll with actual hours. Sample three pay runs, then widen the check if errors appear. Test rates, travel, training, uniform costs, tips and pensions against rotas and workers’ accounts.
3. Check time and leave. Review holiday balances and pay methods, SSP eligibility and qualifying days, family leave, opt-outs and whether rest is taken.
4. Check protection in practice. Inspect right-to-work evidence, insurance, safety assessments, harassment prevention, data notices and complaint handling.
5. Fix and tell affected workers. Correct pay and terms, investigate related errors and record responsibility for each fix. Statutory minimum wage arrears can require repayment at current rates. Set review dates.

Keep evidence for the right period

The minimum wage record rules require at least six years’ retention for records created on or after 1 April 2021, and older records still required on 31 March 2021. The clock starts on the last day of the following pay reference period. Keep total hours and pay, deductions, agreements and evidence of exemptions. Include unpaid working time.

Other files have different retention requirements. Set a schedule for payroll, pensions, right-to-work and safety evidence. Restrict sensitive data and do not keep personal information indefinitely.

Training, discrimination and harassment

The Equality Act 2010 protects against discrimination across nine protected characteristics, including in recruitment. There is no minimum service requirement for a discrimination claim, and compensation is not subject to the ordinary unfair dismissal cap. A nursery must consider a disabled applicant’s adjustments; a hotel cannot treat pregnancy as a reason to stop offering an employee work.

Since 26 October 2024, employers in Great Britain have had a duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. Prevention needs to address the workplace’s actual risks, including customers, isolated shifts and how managers handle reports. The EHRC can enforce the duty. Where a tribunal upholds a sexual harassment claim and finds the prevention duty was breached, it can increase compensation by up to 25%. This is not an automatic training fine.

From 30 October 2026, the government’s timetable schedules an “all reasonable steps” duty and a new obligation not to permit third-party harassment. Those stronger rules are not in force on this guide’s review date. See sexual harassment duties.

Health and safety law requires adequate information, instruction and training. A homecare induction should cover the relevant lifting and lone-working risks; a kitchen induction should cover its equipment and hazards. Training on discipline, grievances, adjustments and flexible working helps managers make lawful decisions, but there is no single statutory course every small employer must buy.

Give workers a complaint route that does not depend on the supervisor they are reporting. Since 6 April 2026, whistleblowing protection expressly covers qualifying sexual harassment disclosures. Not every personal complaint meets that test. See whistleblowing protection.

Agency staff, overseas work and monitoring

Agency and umbrella arrangements

Identify the agency, hirer and any umbrella company. Agency workers have day-one rights, including relevant workplace access rights. After the 12-week qualifying period in the same role, equal treatment covers specified basic conditions, including pay and annual leave, against applicable direct-hire terms. It does not cover every benefit or make them the hirer’s employee.

Ask for an explanation of every umbrella deduction and distinguish the advertised assignment rate from your gross wages. Check minimum wage, holiday and SSP eligibility against your actual arrangements. Fixed-term, part-time and seasonal labels do not remove statutory protection. See agency worker rights, umbrella company pay and zero-hours rights.

Technology and personal data

Monitoring requires a lawful basis, transparency and consideration of necessity and proportionality. Recruitment software does not excuse discrimination or a failure to make reasonable adjustments. Ask how an inaccessible test can be adjusted. See workplace monitoring and AI in recruitment.

Working across borders

A UK employer or an English-law contract does not settle every overseas worker’s right. Work location and connections with each country affect employment law, tax, social security and immigration obligations. Get a country-specific check. See working abroad for a UK employer.

Dismissal, redundancy and final pay

In Great Britain, ordinary unfair dismissal protection generally requires two years’ continuous employment on 1 October 2026. That does not mean “no rights for two years”. Discrimination, protected whistleblowing and various automatically unfair reasons have different rules. Contractual notice and other pay rights also matter. A probation clause cannot waive statutory rights.

Where ordinary unfair dismissal protection applies, the employer needs a potentially fair reason and a fair process. The Acas disciplinary Code is relevant to misconduct and performance cases, not every type of dismissal. Check notice, wages, accrued holiday and any redundancy payment separately. See unfair dismissal eligibility, notice periods and final pay.

Statutory redundancy pay normally requires two years’ service. For each counted year, the age-based rate is half a week’s pay below age 22, one week from 22 to 40, and 1.5 weeks from 41. In Great Britain the week’s-pay cap is £751 and the maximum statutory payment is £22,530 at the current rates. Enhanced contractual pay may be higher.

Proposals for 20 or more redundancies can trigger collective consultation, depending on the establishment and timing tests. Since 6 April 2026, the maximum protective award for failing to consult is 180 days’ pay, separate from redundancy pay. See collective consultation.

What is in force and what is scheduled

The government’s timetable, updated 25 September 2026, separates measures already introduced from future plans. Future dates remain subject to parliamentary processes and may change.

1. 6 Apr 2026In force: sick pay and family leave changes

   SSP waiting days and the earnings floor removed. Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave became day-one rights. The maximum collective redundancy protective award doubled. Whistleblowing protection expressly extended to sexual harassment disclosures.

2. 7 Apr 2026In force: Fair Work Agency established

   Minimum wage enforcement continues through HMRC. Do not assume the agency’s establishment means every new enforcement power or complaint service is already operational.

3. 1 Oct 2026In force: tribunal time-limit extension

   The timetable confirms an increase from three to six months. Scottish breach-of-employment-contract claims follow on 9 November 2026. Check the deadline for your particular claim and the transitional rules; do not assume an old deadline has been revived.

4. 30 Oct 2026Scheduled: stronger harassment and union protections

   The “all reasonable steps” prevention duty, third-party harassment obligation and further union access and recognition measures are scheduled for this date.

5. 1 Jan 2027Scheduled: shorter unfair dismissal qualifying period

   The qualifying period is due to fall to six months for dismissals from this date, with compensatory awards uncapped. Fire-and-rehire protections and a duty to inform workers of their right to join a union are also scheduled for January, without treating every measure as commencing on the first day.

Scotland and Northern Ireland

England, Wales and Scotland share the main Great Britain framework discussed here. The published timetable gives 9 November 2026 for the Scottish breach-of-employment-contract tribunal time-limit change, rather than 1 October. Get advice on a contract claim before choosing a deadline or court.

Northern Ireland has its own employment legislation. Do not apply the Great Britain reforms or six-month tribunal wording automatically. The SSP reform applies there from 6 April 2026, but the ordinary unfair dismissal qualifying period remains one year. The current week’s-pay cap is £783, maximum statutory redundancy pay £23,490, and unfair dismissal compensatory cap £123,785, without the Great Britain 52-weeks’-pay limit.

Claims go to Northern Ireland’s industrial tribunals or Fair Employment Tribunal, as appropriate, with early conciliation through the Labour Relations Agency rather than Acas. Check local discrimination, tips and family-leave rules too. See Northern Ireland employment differences.

If your employer fails the check

You do not have to finish auditing the business before seeking help. If your job, shifts or visa depend on the employer, get advice before confronting them or resigning. Keep a record of any rota cuts or threats following your complaint.

1. Record the shortfall. Write down dates, hours and missing pay. Keep the supporting payslips, rotas and messages.
2. Ask for correction if safe. Send payroll your calculation and request a written response. Use the grievance procedure if needed; it does not stop a tribunal deadline.
3. Get advice now. Ask your union or a free adviser about status, evidence and deadlines. Joining after a dispute starts does not guarantee retrospective legal support.
4. Use the right route. HMRC handles minimum wage complaints and statutory payment disputes. Acas advises in Great Britain; the LRA in Northern Ireland. Safety and data have separate regulators.
5. Protect the claim deadline. Contact Acas for early conciliation in time, keep the certificate and get the final deadline checked. Do not wait for an internal appeal or regulator.

Union and advice routes

For a starting point, shop workers can contact Usdaw; care and NHS support staff, UNISON; hospitality and logistics staff, Unite; warehouse and security staff, GMB; and gig workers and outsourced cleaners, IWGB. Coverage and legal-support rules vary. Ask the union which branch covers your work. You can also seek help from Citizens Advice or a law centre. A colleague or eligible union companion can accompany you at relevant disciplinary and grievance hearings.

Do not guess the tribunal deadline

The six-month extension does not give every employment claim the same deadline. Claim type, event date, transitional rules and conciliation affect the calculation. Acas early conciliation can last up to 12 weeks; that is not an automatic extra 12 weeks to claim. See bringing a tribunal claim.

Use the official pay-and-work-rights complaint route for minimum wage concerns, and HMRC’s Statutory Payment Disputes Team for SSP disputes. Report safety risks to HSE or the responsible local authority, and data misuse to the ICO. Ask Acas which route can pursue a holiday-pay shortfall rather than assuming every new Fair Work Agency service is operational.

Questions people ask

What must my employer give me on day one?

The principal written statement if you are an employee or worker. Some information can be in accessible separate documents; wider particulars are due within two months. Missing paperwork does not mean you have no contract.

Does travel between care visits count for minimum wage?

Yes. Ordinary commuting is different, and not every gap counts. Keep visit and travel records, then check eligible pay against qualifying hours over the pay reference period.

How much sick pay can you get now?

If eligible, the lower of £123.25 weekly and 80% of average weekly earnings, for qualifying days from day one, up to 28 weeks. There is no lower earnings threshold. Worker status alone does not establish eligibility.

Can my employer dismiss me during probation?

Probation cannot remove statutory rights. Ordinary unfair dismissal generally needs two years’ service in Great Britain now, or one year in Northern Ireland. Discrimination and automatically unfair reasons have different rules. The Great Britain reduction to six months is scheduled for dismissals from 1 January 2027.

Do agency staff get every right permanent employees get?

No. After the qualifying period, equal treatment covers specified basic conditions, not every benefit. Check who employs you and the agency, hirer and umbrella company’s respective duties.

Is training legally required?

Adequate safety information, instruction and training are duties. Effective training can also help meet harassment prevention duties. There is no universal statutory HR course that proves compliance.

Sources

1. Plan to Make Work Pay and Employment Rights Act timeline update, GOV.UK, updated 25 September 2026. Commencement dates and future plans.
2. Employment Rights Act 2025, legislation.gov.uk.
3. Written statement of employment particulars, GOV.UK.
4. Payslips, GOV.UK.
5. National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Regulations 2026, legislation.gov.uk. Rates from 1 April 2026.
6. Who gets the minimum wage and employer calculations and records, GOV.UK. Apprentice conditions, deductions, pay reference periods and six-year record retention.
7. Maximum weekly working hours, GOV.UK.
8. Holiday pay and entitlement reforms, GOV.UK. Definitions, rounding, rolled-up pay and reference periods.
9. Statutory Sick Pay changes 2026, Acas; SSP eligibility, GOV.UK.
10. Maternity pay and leave, pay, GOV.UK; rates and limits for employment law, Lewis Silkin, 7 April 2026. Statutory rates and Great Britain and Northern Ireland limits.
11. Flexible working, Acas.
12. Illegal working penalties, codes of practice for employers, Home Office.
13. Equality Act 2010, legislation.gov.uk.
14. Health and safety basics for your business, HSE; employers’ liability insurance, GOV.UK.
15. Workplace pension employer guidance, The Pensions Regulator; data protection guidance, Information Commissioner’s Office.
16. Tips and service charges, Acas. Coverage, deductions, payment deadline and planned consultation rules.
17. Employment Tribunals (Early Conciliation) (Amendment) Regulations 2025, legislation.gov.uk. Conciliation duration, not the general claim deadline.
18. Tribunals statistics quarterly, April to June 2026, Ministry of Justice, 10 September 2026. Source for the open caseload and annual change.
19. Nearly 660 employers named for failing to pay minimum wage, Department for Business and Trade, 3 September 2026. Source for workers affected, repayments and penalties.
20. Payment of employment tribunal awards, IFF Research for BIS, 2013. Historical payment evidence, not a 2026 estimate.