Work
This page gives general information about working in the United Kingdom, including your rights and responsibilities. You can find more detailed information on the Directgov website.
Whether or not you can work in the United Kingdom depends on your residency status and any conditions we have placed on it. British citizens and anyone with right of abode may work without restrictions. If you have a residence permit that allows you to live here, it will say what restrictions there are on your employment, if any. For instance, you may be restricted to being self-employed, or to working only for a particular employer. If you have a residence permit as a retired person of independent means, you will not be allowed to work at all.
You can find work by looking:
- in newspapers (including free newspapers);
- at Jobcentre Plus, a government employment centre with offices in all areas of the country;
- in employment agencies; and
- on boards in supermarkets and shop windows.
If you need training, you can find details of courses available at public libraries or in local newspapers, or look at the Training and workplace learning pages of the Directgov website.
Before giving you a job an employer may want to check whether you have been in trouble with the police, either in the United Kingdom or in your home country. This check is always needed when you will work with children or in the security industry and may be needed for other jobs too. You should be honest if you have been in trouble with the police. It does not always mean that you will not get the job.
When you get a job, your employer should give you a contract in writing within two months of you starting work. This should set out your pay, holidays, sick pay and pension, and say how much notice you must give if you want to leave. There is a national minimum wage and people in full-time employment should receive at least four weeks paid holiday a year.
You must pay income tax and National Insurance on your pay. National Insurance helps pay for state healthcare and pensions. If you work for an employer, he/she will take it directly from your pay and send it to the government. You should receive a pay slip that shows how much you have been paid and how much has been taken out for tax and National Insurance.
If you are self-employed, you should contact your local tax office for advice on paying tax and National Insurance. You can find your local tax office on the website of HM Revenue and Customs.
You have a right to:
- be treated fairly regardless of your gender, race, nationality, sexuality, religion or any disability you have;
- be paid the same wage for a job regardless of whether you are a man or a woman;
- join a trade union; and
- time off for medical care if you are pregnant and time off after the baby is born (known as maternity leave).