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Fair pay

Information on what constitutes fair pay.

​Pay is one of the most important parts of any employment relationship. Employers must pay employees and workers in accordance with the law (The Wages Act 1986) and their contracts of employment.

The contracts agreed with employees and workers are legally binding and must adhere to the agreed pay arrangements as well as any other specifically agreed terms.

  1. Correct pay
  2. Employment status
  3. A week's pay
  4. Holiday and sick pay
  5. Scottish Living Wage

2. Employment status

Anyone who works for you and is not genuinely self-employed, is either a worker or an employee.

Employees have a contract of service and are usually required to work a set or minimum number of hours per week.

A worker will also work under some form of contract (it doesn’t need to be written) but has fewer employment rights than an employee, such as protection against unfair dismissal or time off for emergencies. They will usually have fewer obligations to their employer, for example, casual workers or agency staff can usually decline work offered to them.

Self-employment

Self-employees are responsible for their own business. They aren’t paid through PAYE and they don’t have the same rights and responsibilities of an employee or worker.

An organisation can regard someone as self-employed for tax purposes, however employment rights and health and safety duties may still fall to the employer depending on the nature of the contract and the way work is being carried out. An employment tribunal can make a decision over their employment status.

Read more about what constitutes self-employment on the Gov.UK website​​​