Employment Rights Act 1996

211 Period of continuous employment

(1) An employee’s period of continuous employment for the purposes of any provision of this Act—

(a) (subject to subsections (2) and (3)) begins with the day on which the employee starts work, and

(b) ends with the day by reference to which the length of the employee’s period of continuous employment is to be ascertained for the purposes of the provision.

(2) For the purposes of sections 155 and 162(1), an employee’s period of continuous employment shall be treated as beginning on the employee’s eighteenth birthday if that is later than the day on which the employee starts work.

(3) If an employee’s period of continuous employment includes one or more periods which (by virtue of section 215, 216 or 217) while not counting in computing the length of the period do not break continuity of employment, the beginning of the period shall be treated as postponed by the number of days falling within that intervening period, or the aggregate number of days falling within those periods, calculated in accordance with the section in question.