Some apply straight away, others after a minimum period of continuous employment.

Within the period of continuous employment, there may be:

A period of continuous employment is a period of time:

Maternity leave does not break one's period of continuous employment and indeed it counts as part of that period.

See a table showing minimum periods of continuous employment and qualification dates for employment rights - Opens in a new window.

It counts towards an employee's period of continuous employment for the purposes of entitlement to other statutory rights, for example redundancy payment.

One of the most important limitations on statutory safeguards is the insistence that, to qualify for most rights, you must have built up a specified period of continuous employment.

A week normally counts towards a period of continuous employment if, in that week, the employee actually works or the employee's relations with the employer are governed by a contract of employment.