The Basics of Wage and Hours Laws in the UK
When it comes to wage laws in the UK, the regulations are ever-changing, and from one year to the next, wage changes can be exponential, but your employer may not be compensating you correctly in line with the law. For this reason, it is important to be aware of wage changes so you know how much you should be being paid in line with your work hours, working limits, and age. In this article, we’ll discuss the basics of hours and wage laws in the UK and put forward the information you need, as it is currently, to give you an idea of where you should be in terms of your pay, and whether you’re unknowingly being overworked.
What are the wage laws?
Wage laws vary exponentially with individuals in different age groups. The most notable of which is those who are under the age of 18, and apprentices.
- Under 18s & Apprentices
Unlike those aged 18 and over, there is no legal requirement for employers to pay underage staff the minimum wage, regardless of their role in a company or how long they’ve been working there. As of April 2023, the minimum wage for employers to pay their underage staff increases by 47p, from £4.81 to £5.28. Employers always reserve the right to increase these wage changes, but they cannot be taken to a tribunal.
If an employer has an employee that falls under either of these categories that earns more than £123 a week, they should be collecting information from them for PAYE. PAYE is an HMRC system that collects income tax based on the amount you’re paid each week. If you suspect that you might be paying too much income tax, there is a chance your tax code is incorrect. If you discover that this is the case, you should contact HMRC, which will issue a revised tax code to your employer.
- 18-20
Those aged 18 to 20 years old are entitled to a minimum wage, as this is the school leaving age. This will again increase in line with annual wage increases in April 2023 from £6.83 to £7.49. However, the wage laws for apprentices remain for those aged under 19 and those aged 19 or over in the first year of their apprenticeship, and they can still be paid £5.28 an hour (as of April 2023), if this is the case.
- 21-22
The minimum wage for those aged 21 and 22 is substantially higher than those in the previous category, with a difference of £2.35 currently, and further wage changes of £2.39 between the age groups as of April 2023.
- 23+
Finally, those aged 23 and over are entitled to £10.42 in line with the minimum wage laws being introduced in April 2023. These wage changes see a 92p increase in the pay a minimum wage worker is entitled to per hour.
What are hours laws?
Depending on your particular age group, your working limits will vary. The working limits imposed on those under the age of 18 falls in line with the Children and Young Persons Act 1933, which details that no child under the age of 14 can legally enter employment under any circumstances, nor can those over the age of 14 attend work when they should be attending mandatory schooling.
- Under 18s
As previously mentioned, the Children and Young Persons Act of 1933, exists to protect children from unlawful employment practices. Some of the regulations included in this act detail that no child under the age of 18 should be working for more than 12 hours in any week in which school attendance is mandatory, and an hour’s break must be granted for those working four hours or more, to name a few. Child employment laws are usually very strict, but there are some occasions where employers choose not to pay attention to them based on taking advantage of younger workers who may not know any better. If you think that your employer is breaking any working limits laws, you should contact an employment solicitor to discover your rights as a child and take your employer to a tribunal.
- Apprentices
If you are an apprentice, you are required to work for a minimum of 30 hours a week, with granted time off for training at a college included, and a maximum of 40. This isn’t much different from the legal working maximum of 48 hours, which no person of any age should be working. Furthermore, apprentices cannot work more than eight hours each day.
- 18-20
An 18-20 year old cannot work for more than 40 hours a week. The same working limits apply even if you happen to have two employers. However, if you work in a sector where 24-hour staffing is required, in the armed forces, emergency services or police, security and surveillance, as a domestic servant, or sea fisherman, or when you work for yourself.
- Part-Time
Part-time workers are often treated less favourably than full-time employees simply because they work fewer hours. However, wage laws and working limits remain just as strict for part-time workers. For example, pension opportunities, pay rates (including sick pay, maternity, paternity, etc), holidays, career development and promotion, are all things part-time workers are still entitled to. Similarly, if full-time workers receive a Christmas bonus, part-time employees should receive the same treatment in conjunction with the number of hours they work.
- Full Time
Full-time employees are protected from unlawful wage changes or deductions, have a statutory minimum length of rest breaks, entitled to receive statutory sick pay, maternity pay, paternity pay, adoption pay, and shared parental pay. They also cannot work for more than 48 hours a week, unless they opt out of the 48-hour week. Those under 18, airline staff, ship-workers, delivery drivers, and security guards on a vehicle carrying high-value items cannot opt-out.