An employee must complete a minimum period of continuous employment with an employer to be eligible for certain rights and payments such as unfair dismissal, statutory redundancy payments, statutory maternity pay (SMP), statutory paternity pay (SPP) and statutory adoption pay (SAP).

Continuity will usually be broken by, amongst other events, a break of one clear week (measured from Sunday to Saturday) between two contracts of employment, unless certain exceptions apply.

For a detailed guide on how to determine an employee's period of continuous employment, see Practice note, Continuity of employment.