Young Wrexham

Being Employed

As an employee you have legal rights including sick pay, maternity leave, being allowed to join a Trade Union and being free from harassment and discrimination. You have statutory rights, which are legal rights decided by parliament.

You should also receive a contract of employment when you start a new job, which will detail what hours you are expected to work, what pay you will receive and how many paid holidays you are entitled to.

A percentage of your wages is paid by your employer directly to the government in tax and national insurance. Don’t be alarmed if you see this on your payslip – some people multiply the hours they work by their hourly rate of pay and are shocked when they receive less than this because their tax and national insurance has been deducted!

For children and young people there are special rules about your employment that regulate what times of the day you can work and for how long. These are different depending on your age.

The articles in this section look at some of the main issues and concerns you might have when you are working including the laws and rights that are there to protect you as an employee.