Your Rights at Work in the UK: Minimum Wage, Holiday and Contracts

This guide is for internationals who have just moved to the United Kingdom and are starting, or about to start, their first job here. After reading it, you will be able to check the minimum hourly rate for your age, work out the statutory paid holiday the law sets, and understand what official guidance says about an employment contract.

• Your contract starts when you accept the job
• National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage
• The apprentice rate
• Statutory paid holiday
• Checks around your first payday
• If pay or holiday is not right
• FAQ

Your contract starts when you accept the job

According to GOV.UK’s guidance on employment contracts, all employees have an employment contract with their employer. The contract sets out the employee’s employment conditions, rights, responsibilities and duties, which together are called the “terms” of the contract.

As soon as someone accepts a job offer, they have a contract with their employer. That contract does not have to be written down.

Both the employee and the employer must stick to the contract until it ends, for example when one side gives notice or the employee is dismissed. The other way the terms can change is by being altered, which GOV.UK says usually happens by agreement between the employee and the employer.

Not every work arrangement is employment. If a person agrees to do a piece of work for someone, such as painting their house, GOV.UK calls this a “contract to provide services” rather than an employment contract. GOV.UK also notes that different rules apply to agency staff, freelancers, consultants and contractors.

GOV.UK’s step-by-step guide for employers lists agreeing “a written statement of employment particulars” as part of agreeing a contract and salary. The pages used for this guide do not say what that statement must contain or when it must be provided. GOV.UK and Acas (the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) publish that detail.

None of the pages this guide draws on mark these rules as England-only, and none describe separate arrangements for Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.

National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage

The official minimum wage rates page explains that the hourly minimum depends on age and on whether the worker is an apprentice. A worker must be at least school leaving age to get the National Minimum Wage and at least 21 to get the National Living Wage. The minimum wage still applies to workers aged 20 and under.

The current hourly rates are:

• Aged 21 and over (National Living Wage): £12.71
• Aged 18 to 20: £10.85
• Under 18: £8
• Apprentice rate: £8

The rates change on 1 April every year, so figures in older articles may be out of date. The starting age has also changed over time. The National Living Wage has applied from age 21 since 1 April 2024. Between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2024 it applied from age 23, and before that from age 25.

GOV.UK has a minimum wage calculator for checking whether the correct rate is being paid.

The apprentice rate

An apprentice is entitled to the apprentice rate if they are either under 19, or 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship. Once an apprentice is 19 or over and has completed the first year, they are entitled to the minimum wage for their age. GOV.UK gives two examples:

• An apprentice aged 21 in the first year is entitled to at least £8 an hour.
• An apprentice aged 21 who has completed the first year is entitled to at least £12.71 an hour.

Statutory paid holiday

GOV.UK’s holiday entitlement guidance says almost all people classed as workers are legally entitled to 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday a year, known as statutory leave entitlement or annual leave. This includes agency workers, workers with irregular hours and part-year workers.

How the 5.6 weeks works

• Five-day week: most workers must receive at least 28 days’ paid annual leave a year.
• Part-time, regular hours: still 5.6 weeks, but fewer than 28 days. Someone working 3 days a week must get at least 16.8 days (3 × 5.6).
• Six days a week: statutory paid holiday is capped at 28 days, so the entitlement stays at 28 days.
• Irregular hours or part of the year: leave builds up (“accrues”) based on hours already worked, up to 5.6 weeks. For leave years beginning on or before 31 March 2024, leave did not need to be accrued this way.

Bank holidays and extra leave

Bank or public holidays do not have to be given as paid leave, and an employer can choose to count them as part of statutory annual leave. An employer can also offer more leave than the legal minimum without applying every statutory rule to the extra days. For example, a worker might need to be employed for a certain time before qualifying for them.

Other holiday rights

Workers also have the right to holiday pay, to build up holiday during maternity, paternity or adoption leave and while off sick, and to request holiday at the same time as sick leave. GOV.UK’s holiday entitlement calculator works out part-time and irregular-hours figures.

Checks around your first payday

GOV.UK’s employer step-by-step guide lists several checks that happen when someone starts work:

1. Right to work: employers must check that a new starter has the right to work in the UK. Questions about an individual immigration situation are a matter for a regulated adviser registered with the OISC or a solicitor regulated by the SRA.
2. DBS check: some roles, for example in healthcare or with children, may need a Disclosure and Barring Service check.
3. Workplace pension: the employer uses The Pensions Regulator’s tools to see whether the new employee must be put into a workplace pension.
4. HMRC: the employer must tell HMRC about a new employee on or before their first pay day, using their personal details and P45 to work out a tax code. Without a P45, the employer uses HMRC’s “starter checklist”.

If pay or holiday is not right

GOV.UK states that paid annual leave is a legal right that an employer must provide, and that there are a number of ways to resolve a dispute about leave and holiday pay. For the minimum wage, GOV.UK directs workers to contact Acas if they are not getting the National Minimum Wage and think they should be. The pages used here do not state any deadlines for raising a complaint; Acas explains the steps and time limits that apply.

FAQ

Does an employment contract have to be in writing?

No. GOV.UK states that an employment contract does not have to be written down and that a contract exists as soon as someone accepts a job offer. Both sides must stick to its terms until it ends or the terms are changed, usually by agreement.

Are bank holidays added on top of the 28 days?

Not necessarily. Bank or public holidays do not have to be given as paid leave, and an employer can include them as part of a worker’s statutory annual leave of 5.6 weeks. An employer can choose to offer more than the legal minimum.

Is a 20-year-old entitled to the National Living Wage?

No. The National Living Wage applies from age 21, at £12.71 an hour. Workers aged 18 to 20 are entitled to the National Minimum Wage of £10.85 an hour. The rates change on 1 April every year.

Do these rights depend on immigration status?

The official pages used for this guide do not discuss how immigration status affects pay or holiday rights. They do say employers must check that new staff have the right to work in the UK. Questions about an individual immigration situation are a matter for an OISC-registered adviser or an SRA-regulated solicitor.

Official sources: gov.uk · gov.uk · gov.uk

Last verified: 10 October 2026 against the official pages linked above. Rules and fees change; the official page always wins.

This is general information, not legal or immigration advice. Immigration advice in the UK may only be given by advisers regulated by the OISC or by solicitors regulated by the SRA.