Your rights in the workplace

Knowing about aspects of UK employment law may be useful if you are seeking part-time work, work experience, internships or graduate jobs, or if you are in work and experiencing difficulties.

Your rights

Information, advice and support

Gov.uk - Working, jobs and pensions has information on all key points of UK employment law including pay, working hours, holiday entitlement, disciplinaries, dismissal and more.
Trade Union Congress (TUC) - Basic rights at work is a plain-English information resource on your rights at work.
Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) is for employers and employees who are in dispute and/or are seeking information on employment law.
Citizens' Advice Bureau (CAB) is a free service where you can discuss your queries in person or by phone.

UKCISA advice line (0207 788 9214) can provide advice for international students and graduates. Open Monday-Friday, 1-4pm (UK time). The advice line is often very busy - we recommend finding information on the UKCISA website or contacting the Careers Service in the first instance.
Use our visa enquiry form if you are an international student with questions about your visa.

Specific groups

“Most graduate employers embrace equal opportunities and diversity in the workplace. They recognise that employees from different backgrounds bring unique knowledge, skills and experience to their businesses.

If you are concerned you might be at a disadvantage, how do you ensure recruiters give you the best chance to show your abilities and treat you fairly in the recruitment process? Specialists from AGCAS provide their advice on how to identify diversity-positive employers, decide how and whether to disclose your circumstances, and get an understanding of your rights.”

(AGCAS)

Diversity Matters is a collection of resources from AGCAS (Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services). It offers information and advice to people potentially affected by issues relating to:

Age
Disability
Ex-offenders
Gender
Political and ethical issues
Race
Refugees and asylum seekers
Religion and belief
Sexual orientation*
Social and class issues
Transsexual/transgender issues

* See also Stonewall's Starting Out - LGBTQ Careers Guide featuring employers who have made a commitment to LGBTQ+ equality and are engaging with them to improve the working lives of LGBTQ+ staff.

International students

TargetJobs - International students has information on seeking work outside the UK, getting work experience, job hunting in the UK, and visas and work permits to work in the UK.

UKCISA (UK Council for International Student Affairs) has information on the following issues:

Internships

Unfortunately, in certain industries, unpaid internships are still the norm. The legal debate around this is ongoing.

All About Careers has plain English advice on internships, pay and your rights.

Employment rights for interns has government information on interns' rights and employment status.
Internships explained (pdf) is an information sheet from Volunteering England explaining the difference between volunteering and internships.