UK Employment Law for American bosses

August 8, 2013 10:35 AM

I now have an employee in the UK. What do I need to know?

Web searches have turned up articles on specific issues.

I'm looking for some kind of handy (preferably web-based) reference on the things an American boss needs to know with regard to employees in the UK. (Small anecdotes are, of course, happily welcomed too).

Thanks

posted by colin_l to Work & Money (6 answers total)

Best answer: From working as a US employee for a UK based firm once, I can tell you that two weeks is way short for giving notice in the UK. A month or more is more normal. I gave 3 weeks notice as a junior level employee and got a personal note from the CEO of our 150 person company for being, like, the only American to ever do that. So while you hopefully won't have to deal with it soon, maybe look at notice requirements for ending an employment relationship, for your situation. Don't know the particulars, but you're used to at-will US employer/employee relationships, you may find the rights & responsibilities here are rather different, from either a legal or a cultural expectation standpoint (or both).
posted by deludingmyself at 10:46 AM on August 8, 2013

Best answer: This is a good resource for legals and processes.

Some salient points to note:

- There is no 'at will' hiring and firing.
- UK permanent employees tend to be on no less than a month's notice, and can be much more for senior managers.
- Redundancies and firing need to follow a specific process
- If your employee is likely to go on maternity leave, the process is very different to the US
- If your employee is a member of a union, make buddies with your HR team before you do anything.
- Employment tribunals tend to fall on the side of the employee, so be careful what you do and say.
- Almost all workers are legally entitled to 5.6 weeks paid holiday per year (known as statutory leave entitlement or annual leave), pro rata. We don't tend to do 'personal days' formally
- There are laws around sick pay and sick leave
- You will get laughed at behind your back if you use to much management jargon
posted by MuffinMan at 10:58 AM on August 8, 2013

IAAL, IANYL, this is not legal advice.

In my experience, one area where US and European employment diverges is with respect to privacy.

There are publications that can be more specific.

[note, I used to work for a firm involved with that organization; I no longer work for that firm; but I do think that book is a good resource for people looking for an overview of labor laws in other countries, especially if you're based in the US].
posted by dpx.mfx at 11:23 AM on August 8, 2013

You'll want to find out if these laws only apply to employers based in the UK.

It's likely that some of these rules apply to how employers in the UK treat their employees, rather than applying to any employees located in the UK.
posted by yohko at 1:10 PM on August 8, 2013

https://www.gov.uk/employing-staff would appear to be the obvious place to start reading. But you're a US company & I'm not sure that all of that applies. I'd find a UK accountancy firm that's familiar with the issues and ask them what to do.

Personally, if I was doing this & wasn't looking to set up and office in the UK I'd employ the UK citizen as a contractor via an umbrella company & keep all the contracts as B2B ones. It'll save a lot of hassle.
posted by pharm at 2:03 PM on August 8, 2013 [1 favorite]

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/pommanual/PAYE20100.htm would seem relevant.
posted by pharm at 2:18 PM on August 8, 2013