Remuneration

Workplace pension schemes
To be eligible for a workplace pension, you must:
- Be aged between 22 and the State Pension Age
- Earn over £10,000 a year
- Typically work in the UK (this includes those who are usually based in the UK but travel abroad for work)
By law, all eligible employees must be enrolled from the day they begin employment. Each month, unless you opt out, you and your employer contribute to the pension scheme. This is to help you save for your retirement.

In total, 8% of an employee's qualifying earnings must be contributed to a scheme. Employers must contribute at least 3% of this. This is the minimum required by law, although some employers pay in higher amounts. Employees can also pay more if they want to.

It's important to note that if your earnings increase or you turn 22 and become eligible for a pension, you must be enrolled into the company pension scheme and written to within six weeks of the day you first meet the criteria.

The annual total earnings for an employee to be auto-enrolled are between £6,240 and £50,270.

This is your pre-taxed amount and includes:
- Wages or salary
- Commission and bonuses
- Statutory maternity, paternity and adoption pay
- Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)
- Overtime
Statutory Sick Pay
Employers are legally obliged to pay you Statutory Sick Pay.

This is paid if an employee takes sick leave for at least 4 days in a row.

Most businesses pay a higher amount as additional sick leave benefits in the UK. But every employer is different.

Some companies will cover sick leave for two to four weeks at the employee's full pay, then require them to use SSP.

Certain industries are particularly generous with sick pay, while others do not offer any kind of sick pay.
Paternity and Maternity pay
Paid maternity, paternity and adoption leave are also mandatory UK employee benefits.

Workers who are parents are entitled to these, as well as Shared Parental Leave.
Maternity Leave & Pay
There are three types of maternity leave:
- Compulsory Leave
  This covers the two weeks after birth, during which time the employee is not allowed to work (this increases to four weeks for factory workers)
- Statutory Maternity Leave (SML)
  This is the 52 weeks of leave an employee can take. Employers assume employees will take all 52 weeks' leave unless notified otherwise. In the UK, mothers are entitled to up to 39 weeks of Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP). For the first six weeks, they are paid 90% of their average weekly earnings. The rest is paid at the lower statutory rate (£172.48) or 90% of the average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.
- Shared Parental Leave (SPL)
  This can be shared between both parents.
Paternity Leave & Pay
If a worker's partner is due to have a baby, they are entitled to a maximum of two weeks Statutory Paternity Leave. This is typically from the baby's birthdate, a day in the week after the birth, or within 56 days of the birth. Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) is the same as SMP.
Shared Parental Leave (SPL)
Shared Parental Leave allows mothers to share part of their leave with their partner. Both parents can take time off together to care for their newborn or take it in turns to have time off. The mother must give her employer at least eight weeks' notice before SPL starts, though. You can offer Shared Parental Leave to staff who are:
- Having a baby
- Using a surrogate
- Adopting a child
- Fostering a child they plan to adopt
Parents are able to share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay between them.
Adoption Leave & Pay
An important mandatory benefit introduced more recently is adoption leave and pay. It's often the same as Statutory Maternity Pay. Employees will receive the same rate for up to 39 weeks. Staff can take up to 52 weeks adoption leave. But if a couple within your company adopts a child together, only one adoptive parent can take the leave. The other must take paternity leave or shared parental leave, as explained above. The main or primary adopter is also entitled to paid time off to attend five adoption-related appointments. The other adopter can take unpaid time off to attend up to two adoption-related appointments.
Holiday pay