Employer of Record in the United Kingdom

How hiring through an employer of record works in the United Kingdom

The local employer holds the contract, registers the payroll with HMRC and reports each pay run, while your managers direct the work. GOV.UK says the principal written statement is due on the first day, covering pay, hours, leave, place of work, probation, sick pay and notice, with the wider statement within two months. These notes cover England, Wales and Scotland, and a Northern Ireland hire is checked separately.

Employer costs and contributions in the United Kingdom

HMRC sets employer Class 1 National Insurance for 2026 to 2027 at 15% of earnings above £5,000 a year, with no upper limit.

Automatic enrolment requires at least 3% from the employer and 8% in total, generally on pay between £6,240 and £50,270. On a £60,000 salary, employer National Insurance is £8,250 and the minimum employer pension about £1,321, roughly 16% together.

Working time, leave and pay rules in the United Kingdom

• Minimum wage: £12.71 an hour at 21 and over, £10.85 at 18 to 20, and £8 under 18 and for apprentices under 19 or in their first year.
• Hours: 48 a week on average, normally over 17 weeks, unless the worker opts out.
• Holiday: 5.6 weeks, which is 28 days for a five-day week and the cap. Bank holidays can count towards it.
• Sick pay: £123.25 a week or 80% of normal earnings if lower. Since 6 April 2026 there is no waiting period or lower earnings limit.
• Family pay: Statutory Maternity Pay is 90% of earnings for six weeks, then £194.32 or 90% if lower.

Probation, notice and redundancy in the United Kingdom

The sources opened for this page set no required probation period or maximum length, so the contract and written statement decide. Employer notice under section 86 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 is one week after a month of service, a week per year from two to twelve years, and twelve weeks beyond that.

Redundancy pay generally needs two years of service: half a week's pay per full year under 22, one week from 22 to 40 and one and a half from 41, up to 20 years. For redundancies from 6 April 2026 weekly pay is capped at £751, so the maximum is £22,530.

Employment Rights Act 2025 dates to plan around

GOV.UK's timeline, updated 5 November 2026, lists what has started: day-one paternity leave and the sick pay change on 6 April 2026, and a duty to take all reasonable steps against sexual harassment from 30 October 2026.

Ahead: for dismissals from 1 January 2027 the unfair dismissal qualifying period falls to six months and compensatory awards lose their cap, with fire-and-rehire protections in March 2027 and bereavement leave in April 2027.

Getting paid in stablecoins, USDC, USDT, tokens and crypto in the United Kingdom

Short answer: Not settled. The official sources opened set no required currency or payment method for wages, but only actual money payments count towards the National Minimum Wage and HMRC does not treat cryptoassets as money. HMRC taxes cryptoassets received from an employer as employment income, valued in pounds.

What the law says about the form of pay

Section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 lets an employer deduct from wages only where a statute or contract term allows it or the worker agreed in writing beforehand, and treats paying less than the wages properly payable as a deduction. Section 27(5) says the value of a payment in kind is not wages, except a fixed-value voucher. HMRC's minimum wage manual counts only an actual money payment. The sources opened name no required currency or payment method for wages.

What it means for employee salary

A pounds salary is therefore the safe course. Nothing opened bans token pay, but nothing allows USDC or USDT to replace a salary or count towards the minimum wage, and HMRC says it does not consider cryptoassets to be currency or money. The FCA's cryptoasset regime applies in full from 25 October 2027 and the Bank of England has published draft stablecoin rules, but neither addresses wages. What applies to a specific hire is confirmed when Toku checks the arrangement.

Contractors

Nothing opened bans paying a contractor in stablecoins. HMRC's stablecoin page says business receipts in stablecoins are trading income.

Tax on crypto and tokens

HMRC treats crypto received as pay as money's worth, so, where the tokens are readily convertible assets, the employer runs PAYE and National Insurance on its best estimate of the sterling value; otherwise the employee pays Income Tax through Self Assessment. HMRC's stablecoin page says no specific rules exist and stablecoins received as pay are charged to Income Tax in the usual way. A later sale or spend is typically a Capital Gains Tax disposal on the gain since receipt, with a £3,000 annual exempt amount and rates of 18% and 24%.

How Toku handles it

Separately from what the law in the United Kingdom allows, Toku offers stablecoin payroll, including USDC, in supported arrangements and pays contractors in USDC or USDT through contractor management. Token grants are a separate arrangement from salary, administered through token grant administration. This page does not say any of these is available for a hire in the United Kingdom: that is confirmed before an offer.

Reviewed November 7, 2026 against the official sources listed below. General information, not legal or tax advice. Tax on crypto or tokens received depends on local rules and where the person is resident, so confirm it with a local adviser.

How hiring through Toku works in the United Kingdom

1. Share the role, location, salary and start date.
2. Toku confirms coverage, the contract type and the right to work.
3. The local employer issues the contract and onboards the person.
4. Payroll, contributions and filings run each cycle.

Toku checks the role, work location and employment terms first. Prepare right-to-work evidence, National Insurance details, bank details and the agreed salary in pounds. Your quote confirms the onboarding timeline for the United Kingdom.

What an employer of record costs in the United Kingdom

Where Toku supports the hire, its employer of record service starts at $599 per employee per month, with salary, employer contributions and benefit premiums itemized in your quote. Coverage in the United Kingdom is confirmed before an offer. See the published pricing.

More on hiring in the United Kingdom

• Payroll and hiring in United Kingdom
• United Kingdom full-time hiring compliance guide
• Employer of record in the UK: full guide
• Employer of record coverage in 100+ countries