Rights from Day One

All people at work, including agency workers, enjoy these basic rights from their first day of work: 

• the right to a document called a ‘written statement of employment particulars’, setting out your main terms of work, such as wages, hours and holiday rights, how much notice you will be given to end your contract, and information on sick pay (this can be in a separate document) 

• the right to be paid the National Minimum Wage

• the right to an itemised payslip 

• working time rights (including breaks, paid holidays and a limit on the working week) 

• protection from unlawful wage deductions  

• statutory protection from risks to your health and safety 

• the right to join a union and to engage in union activities at an appropriate time 

• data protection rights (see the Information Commissioner's Office website) 

• the right to be accompanied at a discipline or grievance meeting 

• protection from discrimination 

• the right to reasonable adjustments if you are disabled 

• pensions auto-enrolment rights (although your employer can postpone enrolling you in a pension for the first three months of your contract)  

• the right, if you are a zero hours contract worker, not to be penalised for working for another employer  

• the right not to be victimised (to suffer a ‘detriment’) for ‘blowing the whistle’, asserting your working time rights, or engaging in lawful trade union activity 

• the right not to disclose a spent conviction, unless you will be working in specific sectors, such as with children or vulnerable adults 

All workers, not just employees, must be given an itemised payslip by the first pay date. The payslip must show gross wages, variable pay (for example, commission), any deductions and net wages.  

Where wages vary depending on the number of hours worked (for example, ‘zero hours’ contracting), the payslip must also show the number of hours for which you are being paid.