Hire employees in
the United Kingdom, hassle-free
Hire employees in the United Kingdom, hassle-free
With Deel, your business can easily hire employees in the United Kingdom. No more worrying about local laws, complex tax systems, or managing international payroll. Deel takes care of everything in 150+ countries.
The average onboarding time frame in the United Kingdom is 2 days with Deel.
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Currency
Pound Sterling (GBP)

Capital
London
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Official Language
English
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Payroll Cycle
Monthly
Hire employees in the United Kingdom. No entity needed.
Usually, to hire in the United Kingdom, your business needs an entity. That means a local office, an address registered as a subsidiary, and an account with a local bank. All of this, plus navigating regional benefits, payroll, tax, and HR laws, can take months.
the United Kingdom also treats contractors differently than full-time employees, so misclassifying a contractor could lead to fines. Deel lets you hire employees in the United Kingdom quickly, easily, and compliantly. We even automate tax document collection, payroll, benefits, and more.
All the necessary benefits for the United Kingdom
built right in
Deel allows you to provide localized benefits for employees in the United Kingdom within minutes. All in one manageable online dashboard.
- Employers Liability Insurance
- Professional Training
- State Pension Fund
- Private Healthcare - Freedom (optional)
- National Insurance (Social Security)
Our quickstart guide to hiring in the United Kingdom
Navigate the tabs below to learn everything you need to know about hiring an employee in the United Kingdom
Minimum Wage Requirements
Minimum wage varies by age and working hours. For employees aged 23+ working 40 hours a week, the minimum wage is £1,806.13/month (£21,673.60/year).
Individual Income Tax
The individual income tax ranges from 0% to 45%. Income tax is calculated according to progressive rates. Multiple additional factors may impact overall rates such as the household status and the number of children.
Gross Annual Income | Tax Rate (%) |
---|---|
Up to £12,570 | 0% |
£12,571 - £50,270 | 20% |
£50,271 and £150,000 | 40% |
Over 150,000 | 45% |
There are slightly different tax rates and banding in Scotland, however, this is all taken care of by the tax authorities. Employees based from a Scottish address will have a slightly different tax code that will enable the correct taxation to be applied.
Employer Cost
The employer cost is generally estimated at 17.3% of the employee salary.
- Employer national insurance contributions (Social Security) - 13.80% on amounts over £758 per month
- Workplace Pension - 3.00%
- Apprentice Levy Tax - 0.5%
- P&I Insurance - £20.00
Overtime Pay & Maximum Hours
Maternity Leave
- first 6 weeks: 90% of their average weekly earnings (AWE) before tax.
- following 33 weeks: £172.48 or 90% of their AWE (whichever is lower).
- final 13 weeks of maternity leave are unpaid
Paternity Leave
Parental Leave
Mother and father may choose instead to share up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay between them after the first 2 weeks of compulsory maternity leave to be taken only by the mother (4 weeks if the mother works in a factory).
The first 37 weeks are paid at £172.48 a week or 90% of the employees' earnings, whichever is lower. The remaining 13 weeks are unpaid.
In addition to the standard Shared Parental Leave, employees are also entitled to an additional 18 weeks of unpaid leave that can be used up until the child’s 18th birthday.
Sick Leave
Termination Requirements
Terminations must respect complex rules and the rules of an employee’s employment country. The off-boarding is always handled by the Employer with the primary stakeholders. It may include ad-hoc fees as well as required or recommended steps on specific termination cases.
Terminations in the UK can be complex. There is no at-will termination in the UK for employers outside the probation period and termination must be done for just cause.
Compliant terminations include:
- Fair dismissal
- Unfair dismissal
- Constructive dismissal
- Wrongful dismissal
Notice Period
The minimum notice period is 1 week and will be increased according to the length of the employment.
- 1 week if the length of service is 1-2 years
- 1 week for every year of service on 2 - 12 years
- 12weeks if the length of services is 12+ years
Severance for Employees
In the UK, all employees who are terminated due to redundancy are entitled to severance pay. Severance pay is calculated as follows.
- 0.5 weeks pay for each year of service where the employee was below the age of 22
- 1 weeks pay for each year of service where the employee was between 22 to 40 of age
- 1.5 weeks pay for each year of employment where the employee was 41 and over
Paid Time Off
Full-time employees are entitled to 20 day of paid time off (PTO) a year plus an additional eight public holidays.
Please note, in the platform this is listed as 20 days of PTO and the employee will be entitled to an additional 8 days of public holiday on top of this.
PTO (Including public holidays) accrues at 5.6 weeks times the number of days a week the employee works.
Public Holidays
Public holidays, also known as bank holidays, vary by region in the United Kingdom. There are 8 bank holidays in England and Wales, 9 in Scotland, and 10 in Northern Ireland.
National Public Holidays:
January 1: New Year's Day
Good Friday
Easter Monday
First Monday in May: Early May Bank Holidays
Last Monday in May: Spring Bank Holiday
Last Monday in August: Summer Bank Holiday:
December 25: Christmas Day
December 26: Boxing Day
Additional Regional Holidays:
January 2: Scotland Day
March 17: St Patrick's Day Northern Ireland
July 12: The Twelfth Northern Ireland
November 30: St Andrew's Day Scotland
Onboarding
Employment Contract Details
Contracts must be in English. They must be in writing and signed by both parties. A contract must include:
- Name
- Start date
- Length of the employment
- Job description
- Termination conditions
Probation Period
Hiring in the United Kingdom, hassle-free
With Deel, your business can easily hire employees in the United Kingdom. No more worrying about local laws, complex tax systems, or managing
international payroll. Deel takes care of everything in 150+ countries.
599 USD
Management fee
17.3%
Estimate Employer Cost
*of employee salary
Want to learn the cost of hiring an employee in the United Kingdom?
View our Employee Cost Calculator+
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