rights and responsibilities
Employment is a contract, but it's also more than that. The law gives
a number of automatic protections to both employer and worker no matter
what any contract says.
Even before you secure a job, the law is at work. If, on grounds of race,
sex or disability, you are denied a job, rewarded less, or find yourself
disadvantaged by the working environment, you can seek legal redress from
the Employment Tribunal (formerly the Industrial Tribunal). On the other
hand, age discrimination is (so far) legal.
Once you are in a job, if you are treated differently because of your
gender, your racial/ethnic heritage, or a physical disability, you can
take formal action against the company. If your circumstances make it
impossible to continue and your employers won't do anything to help you,
then your only option may be to resign and claim constructive unfair dismissal.
This is usually a last resort, but if the Tribunal accepts there was nothing
else you could do, you should be compensated.
Getting Help
Seek help from any union to which you belong, or get a solicitor to advise
you confidentially before you take action. The Equal Opportunities Commission
www.eoc.org.uk and
Commission for Racial Equality www.cre.gov.uk
are also likely to be interested.
There is the possibility of a civil claim for compensation if you have
actually suffered in the working environment created by your employer
or co-workers.
Once you are employed you are in a contract with your employer. The contract
doesn't need to be written to be binding, but if it remains verbal there
is greater opportunity for doubt about the exact terms agreed. If there
is a disagreement about pay, holidays, expenses, or hours of work, then
it may be difficult for you to prove your case. It is best to have the
conditions of work set down on paper before you take up the job, and to
have time to study, understand, accept and, if necessary, negotiate the
job terms.
Legal rights
By law you are entitled to have a written statement of the terms and
conditions of your employment no later than two months after starting.
This must specify your pay, holidays, the notice to be given in the event
of termination, your job title, and other work issues including any disciplinary
procedures.
You are also legally entitled to a pay statement that is itemised (unless
you are a merchant seaman, a share fisherman, or work overseas). Failure
to do so can be referred to the Employment Tribunal for an order to be
made. One side effect of the Working Time Regulations is that all workers
are now entitled to four weeks' paid holiday a year, once they have been
in employment for three months or more. However, the employer retains
the right to insist that you take holidays when it is convenient to him,
provided he gives written notice specifying the dates leave is or is not
to be taken, and this notice must be at least four weeks in advance. If
he doesn't, the employee can give notice of at least four weeks as to
when he intends to take holidays.
Disciplinary issues
If things go wrong at work, then there should be a clear process for
discipline or grievances. This may be in your contract or in a statement
of work rules available to all staff. If not, then ACAS www.acas.org.uk
provides codes of practice which are acceptable to Employment Tribunals,
and which create a template for good practice in the workplace.If a company acts unfairly in dealing with discipline or termination
of employment then it can be held to account, and the employee can be
compensated, or seek an order for reinstatement to a lost job. Allegations
should be investigated fully and fairly, and employees under disciplinary
proceedings must at all stages be given their say and the chance to be
represented or supported in meetings or hearings. Wherever possible, judgement
in these cases should not be made by someone personally involved in the
dispute, although in a small firm this may not be possible. If you are
unfairly dismissed, you can apply to the local Employment Tribunal for
compensation, re-engagement or reinstatement, but you must do so within
three months.
Employment law is very complicated and has millions of tiny rules and
regulations, so you are always best to get legal advice on any work problem.
You can also consult the Citizens' Advice Bureaux, www.nacab.org.uk
and if you are in a union, it should have a legal referral system.
Employment Tribunals in Scotland
Central Office
Eagle Building
215 Bothwell Street
Glasgow
G2 7TS
Tel: 0141 204 0730
Fax:0141 204 0732
Legal advice on these pages is provided by Austin Lafferty, Scotland's
on-air and online lawyer. As well as running a busy general legal practice
in East Kilbride outside Glasgow, he has been for many years the only
live phone-in television lawyer in Britain, answering viewers' calls every
Tuesday on Lunchtime Scotland Today on Scottish TV.
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