Employment Information

• What is an employment?

  Employment is a relationship between two parties, usually based on contract where work is paid for, where one party, which may be a corporation, for profit, not-for-profit organization, co-operative or other entity is the employer and the other is the employee.

  The five main employment types are:

  • Permanent or fixed-term employees.
  • Casual employees.
  • Apprentices or trainees – employees.
  • Employment agency staff – also called labour hire.
  • Contractors and sub-contractors – hired staff.

  Features of Employment. It is an occupation where a person called employee is to work for another called employer. There are certain terms and conditions of work like hours of work, duration of work, leave facility, salary/wages, place of work etc.

• Probation period

  Probationary periods are often for the first three or six months of your new job and are used by your employer to assess your performance and conduct during your early stages of employment, to make sure they’re happy within your new role.

• At the start of the probationary period your line manager will discuss the following:
  • What the employee is expected to achieve in their job during the probationary period and thereafter.
  • Details of the core values of the organisation and behaviours expected of the employee.
  • The standards of regular attendance expected from the employee.
  • The standards of customer service expected from the employee.
  • Any development required to help the employee to do their job.
  • How any problems with performance will be addressed.
  • When the probationary period review meetings will take place.
  • The manager should structure the process so both parties are clear about expectations. The probationary period should commence with the manager reinforcing the core values of the organisation with the new employee.

  Your manager should set out details of structured training, guidance and supervisory support the new employee can expect to help them achieve the required standards. 

• Successful outcome of probationary period

  If the employee’s probationary period is satisfactory your manager should inform the employee at the final meeting that their appointment will be confirmed and a successful outcome will be sent to confirm that your probation is completed.

• Notice period

  The notice period is the time period between the receipt of the letter of dismissal and the end of the last working day. This time period has to be given to an employee by his employer before his employment ends. It also refers to the period between resignation date and last working day in the company when an employee resigns.

• Do I have to work my notice period?

  As an employee you can try and agree a shorter notice period with the employer. If an agreement is not reached to waive the notice period, and you refuse to work the notice period that is required by the employment contract, you will be in breach of contract and your employer is not required to pay your notice.

• What is statutory notice period?

  The statutory redundancy notice periods are:

  • At least one week’s notice if employed between one month and 2 years.
  • One week’s notice for each year if employed between 2 and 12 years.
  • 12 weeks’ notice if employed for 12 years or more.
• Setting up a bank account

  To open a bank account, you usually have to fill in an application form online or in branch . Often, you can do this in a branch or online, and sometimes you can also do this over the phone.

  You will also have to provide proof of your identity including your full name, date of birth and proof of address. You usually have to show the bank two separate documents that prove who you are, for example, your passport, and where you live, for example, a recent bill. If you don’t have any of the documents that the bank wants, they should accept a letter from a responsible person who knows you, such as a GP, teacher, social worker or probation officer.

  Here are some banks to consider when thinking about opening your own bank account, Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, NatWest, National Wide and RBS

• What is a payslip?

  A pay slip is essentially a statement in writing from the employer to the employee that outlines the total pay before tax and all details of any deductions from pay. It can be provided to you either in electronic format or in hard copy.

• What information your payslip must contain?

  Remember to check your payslip regularly and check it shows the same tax code as your latest tax invoice.

  Your payslip must show:

  • Gross pay. Your full pay before any tax or National Insurance has been taken off.
  • The total amount of take-home pay after deductions. This is called your net pay.
  • The amounts of any deductions that change from payday to payday, known as variable deductions. For example, tax and National Insurance, and what the deductions are for.
  • The total amount of any fixed deductions. These are deductions that don’t change from payday to payday, for example, union dues. An employer does not have to give details of what these deductions are for, as long as they give a separate statement with these details at least once a year.
  • The amount and method of any part payment. For example, separate figures of a cash payment and the balance credited to a bank account.
• Income tax

  An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) that varies with respective income or profits (taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times taxable income. Taxation rates may vary by type or characteristics of the taxpayer.