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When hiring in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, there are certain factors that should be taken into consideration. Every locale has specific laws and norms that should be considered; staying on top of these can improve hiring and help your company avoid errors and penalties.
Purchasing applicant tracking system (ATS) software that’s designed for use in the UK can be helpful. UK geared recruitment software will help employers to keep track of the following information so that hiring managers are free to focus on the most important aspect of recruitment: finding and hiring top talent.
Citizenship and Work Permissions
In order to legally work in the UK, individuals must meet citizenship criteria or obtain the proper visa. Individuals can legally work in the UK without a visa if they are British citizens, citizens of certain commonwealth countries, Swiss citizens, European Economic Area (EEA) nationals, spouses of British citizens, Swiss citizens, or EEA nationals, or individuals with indefinite leave.
If a visa must be obtained, there are five tiers under the government’s points-based system. In order to legally work, a candidate must meet certain criteria to acquire the right visa. If the candidate falls within tiers two or five, an employer must sponsor the candidate and apply for a sponsor license from the UK border agency in order to employ the individual.
ATS software can help you to verify the documents confirming legal working status and provide information about employing candidates with visas. ATS software can also store documents so that they are easy to retrieve if there is ever a question about work eligibility.
Employment Contracts
It’s customary in the UK for employers to draw up employment contracts detailing the terms of work. These contracts include information such as job title, holiday entitlements, sickness pay, work hours, salary, pension schemes, and the notice period for termination. Contracts may also include employer protections such as assignment of intellectual property and non-disclosure agreements.
ATS software can help you to draft employment contracts that are suitable for your organization. The software can be used to communicate the terms of contracts to potential candidates and to obtain signatures in the case of onboarding. If there is a probationary period before a contract goes into effect, the software may also assist with tracking the probation period and providing notifications when it has been fulfilled.
National Insurance and Pension
UK employers are required to pay into National Insurance for all full-time employees at a rate of 13.8 percent of total pay. Employers must also pay a minimum of one percent of employees’ pay towards a pension scheme. ATS software can be used to communicate with candidates regarding any additional benefits and can be used to funnel employee information into integrated HR software that will track these deductions after hire.
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