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Is an employer at liberty to determine its own levels of pay?

How should an employer specify the details of an employee's remuneration?

What payment details should be included in a contract of employment?

Is an employer liable if it inadvertently fails to pay an employee's wages?

If an employee is prevented from working due to outside circumstances, is he or she still entitled to payment?


If an employer's business is closed because of, for example, flooding, is it obliged to pay its employees?

If an employer temporarily has to close its business premises at short notice because of unforeseen circumstances such as flooding, fire or a power supply failure, and there is no work available for its employees as a result, this will result in a period of lay-off. Unless there is a contractual right to lay employees off without pay, or employees expressly consent to being laid off without pay, they will be entitled to receive their normal pay for the duration of the lay-off. If the employer fails to pay employees they may sue for damages, or claim unfair constructive dismissal (if they resign as a result of the non-payment) on the ground that there has been a fundamental breach of the contract of employment. Employees may also claim that the employer has made unauthorised deductions from wages.

Even where an employee's contract of employment contains an express contractual right for the employer to impose a period of lay-off without pay, or the employee consents to a period of lay-off without pay, he or she is, subject to certain exceptions, entitled to a statutory guarantee payment for any complete day of lay-off. Guarantee payments are limited to a maximum of five days' payment in any three-month period. If the employee is normally required to work fewer than five days a week, the entitlement cannot exceed the number of days that he or she is required to work per week under the contract. The amount of guarantee payment per day is based on the employee's normal daily rate of pay, but subject to a statutory maximum.

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Must an employer still pay the wages of an employee who has expressly refused to perform any work?

Are employers required to pay a premium to employees who work overtime?

Can employees be required to work paid or unpaid overtime?

What procedures must an employer follow if it needs to cut employees’ pay?

Where a redundant employee has been offered a trial period in an alternative job, but the pay for the role is different from that of the employee's old job, at which rate should he or she be paid during the trial period?

Where an employer reduces a pregnant employee's working hours to avoid a risk to her health and safety, can it reduce her pay accordingly?

Can an employer require employees to pay for their uniforms?

Where an employee is provided with a car allowance instead of a company car can this be withdrawn if the employee goes on adoption leave?

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