Employer Duties and Obligations

There are lots of things to think about when employing staff, especially if it is the first time round.

There is the initial stage of hiring the right person for the job, getting the most out of them by motivating them and whilst all this, making sure that you are complying with your duties as the employer.

Hiring the right person

Making the correct hire can be difficult however it is essentially taking onboard the person who can fulfill the business requirements within a defined role.

Businesses need to ensure that they have a clear job description and defined required skills, experience and attributes for the person to be successful at the role. There are also other factors to consider including team and cultural fit. 

Once these are established, business can go to market to advertise their vacancy. This can be via current networks or through recruitment agencies followed by process of elimination of candidates through CV review, interviews and potentially tests. 

Recruitment process should not be discriminatory in any way such as based on gender, sexual orientation, age, ethnic background, race, pregnancy, marriage etc… 

Once a hire takes place, employer duties commence.

Employment Contract

When an agreement is reached, the arrangement should be documented on paper to avoid any future disputes.

The law also requires employers to provide most employees with employment contract within 2 calendar months of starting work. 

Contract should contain main terms of employment including pay, holidays, working hours, employees’ responsibilities, employees’ rights and other company procedures. 

For a full list of what should be in the contract visits www.gov.uk/employment-contracts-and-conditions 

Employee Pay – paying the correct rate

It is very important for business to pay their employees least the national minimum wage (NMW) or National Living Wage (NLW). 

NMW varies depending on age and also currently, there is a different rate for apprentices.

Current rates, April 2021-March 2022, are outlined below:

National Living Wage (23-Year-Old plus):   £8.91

21–22-Year-Old:                                             £8.36

18–20-Year-Old:                                             £6.56

16–17-Year-Old:                                             £4.62

Apprentice Rate:                                            £4.30

Employees have the right to pay from day one of the employment and employees must be paid the pay an employee below the national minimum wage.

It is also worth noting that it is unlawful to deduct money from a person’s wages unless you are legally required to do so or have a contractual right to do so or have a separate written agreement signed by the individual.

For more information please visit: https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates

Payroll

Employers has certain duties when it comes to employing staff. Most of these duties are provided below:

• Maintain up to date employee information
• Calculate employee pay
• Calculate PAYE taxes to be paid by employee 
• Calculate PAYE taxes to be paid by employer
• Paying PAYE taxes
• Produce payslips for employees
• Reporting of earnings, real time information (RTI) to HMRC
• Complying with pension auto enrolment duties
• Reporting pension contributions to pension providers
• Paying pension contributions to pension provider
• Completing pension declarations

Payroll must be run every time an employee is paid. 

In the UK, staff are generally paid monthly hence generally payroll is run monthly however in certain industries staff are paid weekly hence in those instances payroll is done on weekly basis.

For more information please visit: www.gov.uk/browse/employing-people/payroll

Holiday Entitlement

Employees are entitled to holidays and from day one of their employment regardless of their working hours or patterns. 

Holiday entitlements are in proportion of the working hours such as that someone working on part time basis will have less holiday entitlement to someone working full time.

To calculate holiday entitlement please visit - https://www.gov.uk/calculate-your-holiday-entitlement 

Maternity Leave

Employees have right to 52 weeks’ maternity leave with at least 39 weeks’ maternity pay.

Employers can have employment contracts that go above and beyond the statutory maternity pay.

Employers also can propose keep in touch (KIT) days for the employee to come into work at certain intervals, usually for a day, to keep their involvement in the business. It is to keep in touch with the developments in the business to help aid more smooth transition back into work after 39 or 52 weeks of absence.

For more information please visit: https://www.gov.uk/maternity-pay-leave

Notice Period and Pay

Where an employee leaves or is dismissed, generally a notice period must be served.

An employee who has worked for certain amount of time is entitled to notice pay:

• Service of over a month entitles one weeks paid notice
• Service of over 2 years entitles two weeks paid notice
• Then increases by one week per year until a maximum of 12 weeks

Notice periods can be longer than the stated statutory amounts above and can be specified in employment contracts or as part of a separate document or agreement.

Other key points

Motivation your staff is a key in the success of the business. Motivated staff will have better performance and better output and therefore help business move forward.

Continuous sickness or absence can be due to another underlying reason. Identifying and presenting a solution, if relevant, can help with attendance and hence productivity. 

Where possible, flexible working arrangement can help the employee and their productivity greatly.

Communicate with staff effectively and get them involved where possible. Being part of the journey and having voice will improve staff engagement, motivation and retention.

High staff turnover can be very costly and therefore staff turnover needs to be monitored and maintained.

Staff training is a key element. A good induction programme will mean the employee can hit the ground running quicker and improve overall output and quality. Training should also be continuous to upskill the workforce.

For further information or if you would like our assistance to run payroll or you would like us to run your payroll, please get in touch with us on 020 7018 2910.