Shakeup means 300,000 workers will be receiving payslips for the first time

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

New laws on payslips come into force from this week, requiring employers to set out variable rates of pay and hours worked so that workers can more easily check that they are receiving the minimum wage.

The rules will also mean about 300,000 workers will receive payslips for the first time, ministers said. It is expected to benefit many people on casual and zero-hours contracts.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said itemising the number of hours worked would make it easier for employees to see if they were being paid in full and at the correct rate.

It is also hoped it will make it easier to identify if employers are meeting their obligations under the national minimum wage and national living wage and that holiday entitlements are correctly applied.

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About 120,000 agency workers will also benefit from scrapping the Swedish Derogation – a legal loophole that enabled some companies to pay agency workers less than permanent staff – the department said.

Employees will also gain a new entitlement to a “day one statement of rights” setting out their leave allowance and pay.

The payslip changes are part of the government’s Good Work Plan, announced in December, in response to the independent Taylor review of modern working practices.