Guides
UK rules for a shift team
Plain-English guides to fit notes, working time, time off in lieu, the 2026 minimum wage and zero-hours contracts. Each one links the GOV.UK page it follows. None of them is legal advice, and none of them calculates pay.
Fit notes: what employers need to know
A fit note is the statement of fitness for work a clinician gives after the first seven days of sickness. It is evidence for the absence. It is not an order to come back, and it is not a calculation of sick pay.
ReadGuideWorking Time Regulations explained
The Working Time Regulations limit the average week, the gap between shifts, and the break in a long shift. They apply to most workers in the United Kingdom. A rota that ignores them is not only tiring. It can be unlawful.
ReadGuideTime off in lieu (TOIL) explained
Time off in lieu is paid time back, later, for hours already worked. It is a contract practice. It is not a statutory type of leave, and it is not a way to pay someone less than the minimum wage.
ReadGuideNational Minimum Wage 2026: rates and rules
From 1 April 2026 the National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over is £12.71 an hour. Younger workers and apprentices have their own rates. Shiftbrook records hours. It does not work out whether those hours were paid at the legal rate.
ReadGuideZero-hours contracts explained
A zero-hours contract does not promise a minimum amount of work. The person is still a worker, or an employee, with holiday, rest and sick-pay rights. “Zero” describes the guaranteed hours. It does not describe the rest of the law.
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