There are tons of rules and laws based around work life, employees and employers, so it's important to understand most, if not all, of them before you enter a place of work.

Rights to pay

Within two months of hiring you (but usually before you start), an employer will ask you to read their contract of employment, which should include your rate of pay and other mandatory benefits, such as sick pay, maternity/paternity pay and holiday pay. Often, companies will pay you monthly, which can come on a specific date (every 1^st of the month, for example) or every four weeks. Some jobs will pay you on a weekly basis, whereas others will only pay you once the work they have requested has been completed. Every employee has the right to a payslip which documents their total pay and what deductions have been made.

All employees are entitled to be paid the Minimum Wage, which is reviewed yearly to ensure that it's fair for both employers and employees. At the time of writing, the National Minimum Wage is:

• 16-17 year olds - £3.68 per hour
• 18-20 year olds - £4.98 per hour
• Over 21 year olds - £6.08 per hour
• Apprentices under 19 (or in their first year of apprenticeship) - £2.60 per hour

With every payment comes automatic deductions which are authorised by law. These consist of income tax, National Insurance and, if applicable, student loan repayment. These are the only deductions that are allowed to be made to your pay, though employers in the retail sector are allowed to subtract up to 10% of an employee's single pay if they believe that the employee is responsible for any missing stock or a theft.

In some professions, employees are given gifts by customers, such as tipping at bars and restaurants. These do not form part of the employee's pay, making them exempt from taxation and other deductions. This is in effect even if the tips are pooled and shared amongst the staff. However, again in restaurants for example, service charges that occur as a result of payment by credit or debit card (or automatically in some venues) belong to the employer or company. If an employer decides to share the money earned from service charges, this will be included as part of the employee's wage and will be open to government deductions.

Some employers will offer overtime to staff which is handled differently depending on what is in the employer's contract. If you are on a fixed salary (£200 per week, for example), you might not be paid for working overtime, whereas if you are paid on an hourly basis, you must be paid for the extra hours you put in. Overtime pay must not be below the National Minimum Wage.

Rights to holidays

All full-time employees are entitled to at least 28 days' holiday leave per year, for which they shall be paid the regular rate for. As well as these days, employees are also usually given bank and public holidays off as well, though there is no legal entitlement. It is also optional for employers to pay you for public and bank holidays if youdohave them off. Some sectors and their employees do not have these rights, such as the police force and the military.

Employers may choose to include public and bank holidays along with your entitled holidays if you work full-time. You must use up these allowed days off before the end of your company's holiday year, as you may not carry them over into the next year's period. You cannot be paid for any holidays you don't take, either. When you take your holidays must be negotiated between you and the employer.

This is usually done via a holiday form which must be completed and handed to the company's HR department. Your employer is able to reject your holiday if they believe there is a valid reason, such as not being able to provide cover in time or if there are already members of staff not in work.

Dismissal rights

When an employment contract has ended, or terminated, it is known as a dismissal. There are many reasons why this would happen and how it could come about:

• Being fired - The employer ends the employee's contract. This could be due to any number of reasons or dismissible offenses. The employer can give a notice but it is not mandatory, especially if the offense calls for an 'on-the-spot firing', such as theft or violence.
• Resignation - Also known as a constructive dismissal, this can occur when the employer makes it impossible for the employee to continue working, such as bullying, harassment or withdrawal of pay.
• Redundancy - This is when an employee's contract is terminated despite them not necessarily breaking any contractual agreements. There are procedures in place to ensure that forced redundancy is carried out in line with the law.
• End of contract - Some employees are placed on temporary contracts, meaning that they are only employed for an established amount of time. Employers may choose not to renew the contract if they do not want to, or if it is not necessary.
• Breaking contract - If the employee breaks one or more of the clauses in their employment contract, the employer may decide that they have committed a self-dismissal. However, there is no real difference between this and being fired, unless the employee makes it clear that they have resigned.

Not being able to perform your duties to contractual standard, lying about qualifications on your application and serious issues with conduct are all valid reasons for termination, making it a "fair dismissal". Legal procedures must be carried out to fully ensure that the employee is within their rights and that the employer has taken the appropriate action.

An "unfair dismissal" can be claimed for a number of reasons. Inappropriate reasons for contract termination and being dismissed include:

• Sexual, racial, disability or any other kind of discrimination
• Being a member of the trade union
• Pregnancy, maternity or paternity matters
• Making a disclosure in the public interest ("whistleblowing")
• Refusing to work on a Sunday (except in Scotland)
• Doing legally-required jury duty
• Not following legal dismissal procedure

The legal procedure that employers must follow involves presenting a written statement to the employee in question, stating the reasons for dismissal, holding a meeting to discuss the matter and holding a further meeting, if you wish to appeal the termination. Employees have a right to be represented in disciplinary or dismissal hearings, usually by a colleague or a member of the trade union. The employee must be told directly when the dismissal will take effect and how much notice you will be given. Though it is not mandatory, most employers will issue this information in writing.

Failure to follow these procedures will render the dismissal automatically unfair, allowing the employee to appeal the decision at an employment tribunal. If the employee wins their tribunal court case, they will receive a larger compensation due to the employer's shortcomings.