UK employment terms, defined plainly
8 terms that come up when you run a rota in the UK. Each one is defined in a sentence, then explained properly — including the bits that are commonly assumed and are not actually true.
These are deliberately UK terms. Much of the wider RosterElf site covers Australian awards and Fair Work, which is a different system with different vocabulary.
Rotas & working time
The vocabulary of scheduling, hours and rest.
Rota
The British term for a staff schedule — and what it should contain.
Read the definitionTOIL
Time off in lieu: contractual, not statutory, and easy to get wrong.
Read the definitionWorking Time Regulations
The 1998 rules on hours, breaks, rest and paid holiday.
Read the definitionReference period
The 17-week hours average and the 52-week pay average.
Read the definitionPay & leave
How holiday and pay are calculated for irregular hours.
Contracts & leaving
Contract types and what happens at the end of employment.
Zero-hours contract
No guaranteed hours — but full rights to minimum wage, holiday and rest.
Read the definitionStatutory notice period
One week after a month, then one per year, capped at twelve.
Read the definitionP45
The leaving form, what it contains, and why it should not be delayed.
Read the definitionLooking for the longer version?
The glossary defines terms. The UK employment guides work through the rules properly — holiday entitlement, minimum wage, rota law, shift patterns and statutory sick pay — and the free tools do the arithmetic.
Browse the guidesBuilt for UK shift-based teams
Rotas, clocking in, holiday and payroll export in one platform — with Working Time Regulations compliance built in.
Questions about the UK glossary
- Yes — the same document under different names. Rota is the British term; roster is standard in Australia, New Zealand and much of North America. See our rota definition.
- Because the systems are different. The main glossary covers Australian awards, Fair Work and superannuation; this one covers the Working Time Regulations, National Minimum Wage and UK contract terms. Mixing them would mislead readers in both markets.
- The glossary defines a term in a sentence and explains it in a few hundred words. The UK employment guides work through the rules in full — holiday entitlement, minimum wage, rota law, shift patterns and sick pay.
- No. They are general explanations to help you ask the right questions. Entitlements depend on contracts and individual circumstances — check GOV.UK or take advice for a specific case.