What Is PAYE? 2026: How Pay As You Earn Works Explained
Pay As You Earn (PAYE) is HMRC’s statutory system for collecting Income Tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs) from employment income through payroll. For employers, PAYE is not optional administration. It is a legal obligation that sits at the centre of payroll governance, HR risk management and financial compliance under UK employment law. When PAYE […]
Payment in Lieu of Notice 2026 | Meaning & When It’s Used
Payment in Lieu of Notice (PILON) is an operationally attractive option for employers because it allows an exit to be executed quickly. It is also a legally sensitive decision, because PILON interacts with contract rights, tax treatment and litigation risk. Used correctly, it supports clean exits and risk control. Used casually, it can trigger avoidable […]
UK Minimum Wage 2026: Current Rates & Employer Duties
Section A: Overview of Minimum Wage 2026 By law, employers are required to meet specific obligations in relation to workers’ pay under the National Minimum Wage provisions. 1. What is the National Minimum Wage? The UK National Minimum Wage (NMW) is the legally mandated hourly wage that employers should pay their […]
SSP Rate 2026: Guide for Employers
Section A: SSP Rate in 2026 Statutory Sick Pay is the legal baseline for sick pay in the UK, but for employers it is rarely just a payroll figure. SSP sits at the point where pay, absence management and legal risk meet. Errors tend to surface not because the rules are unknown, but […]
UK Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) 2026: Eligibility, Amount & Rules
Section A: What is Statutory Sick Pay? Statutory Sick Pay is the legal minimum sick pay that UK employers are required to provide when an employee is unable to work due to illness. It operates as a statutory baseline rather than a discretionary benefit and applies regardless of sector or workforce size. For […]
UK Holiday Pay on Overtime 2026: Rules & Calculations
Overtime creates the highest holiday pay risk because it sits at the intersection of variable earnings, payroll averaging, statutory leave rules and tribunal exposure. Employers rarely get challenged on basic pay. They get challenged when overtime becomes routine, workers take leave and their pay drops. What this article is about: This guide explains when UK […]
Long-Term Sick Leave & Holiday Pay UK 2026: Rules & Calculation
Employees on long-term sick leave often raise questions about their holiday rights. HR professionals and business owners must understand the legal framework governing entitlement, accrual, carry-over and payment of annual leave during extended sickness absence. Getting this wrong exposes employers to unlawful deduction claims, Working Time Regulations breaches and, in some cases, discrimination risk. Clear […]
Holiday Entitlement When Leaving a Job in 2026
Holiday entitlement when an employee leaves a job is one of the most common causes of payroll disputes, unlawful deduction claims and avoidable employment tribunal exposure. For employers, errors in final holiday calculations rarely arise from complex law; they arise from poor interpretation of statutory rules, inconsistent application of contractual terms or a failure to […]
Employee Offboarding: Process, Legal & Best Practice 2026
Offboarding is a critical but often underestimated stage of the employment lifecycle. While many employers focus heavily on recruitment, onboarding and retention, the point at which an employee leaves the organisation is where legal risk, financial exposure and operational disruption are most likely to crystallise. Offboarding is not simply an administrative exercise. It is a […]
UK National Minimum Wage 2026: Current Rates & Legal Rules
The National Minimum Wage is one of the most actively enforced areas of UK employment law. For employers, it is not simply a question of paying the correct headline hourly rate. Compliance depends on correct classification of workers, accurate calculation of working time, lawful treatment of deductions and charges and robust payroll controls that can […]