UK Employment Law – Q&As

1. Explain the purpose of employment law and how it is enforced. Briefly describe the role played by the tribunal and courts system in enforcing employment law. Include how cases are settled before and during formal legal procedures.

The employment law regulates relations that emerge between employers and employees. The UK employment law focuses on the regulation of employment relations through setting rules which provide fair conditions of work and stand for interests of both employers and employees. The goal of the employment law is to balance relations between employers and employees and prevent the abuse of rights of either party. As a rule, employees need the protection from the discrimination or violation of their employment rights, although there are cases, when employees attempt to push excessively on employers through unions or other ways to reach their goals and to gain more employment benefits. In such situations, employers may also need the protection of their rights and interests.

The employment law needs enforcement to implement and execute legal norms concerning regulations of employment relations in the UK. The tribunal and courts perform the employment law enforcement in the UK. They enforce the employment law through the resolution of disputes between employers and employees and stand for the protection of the law, including the respect to rights granted by the law to employees and employers.

If disputes emerge between employees and employers they can refer to the tribunal to resolve the issue. They have an opportunity to negotiate and the tribunal may help the parties to come up with the plausible solution of the dispute

However, if the tribunal fails to settle the dispute, the case goes to the court. Nevertheless, the parties still have an opportunity to settle the case before court hearings begin. The parties can come to agreement in the course of the trial and settle the case in the course of the court trial, but, if the dispute goes unresolved, it is the court that rules the case and the court ruling is obligatory for both parties. The court is the last law enforcement agency that can resolve disputes between employees and employers, but, as a rule, the majority of cases is settled before they go to the court, while court’s ruling is needed in the most controversial and difficult cases.

2. You are asked to develop a training session for line managers with the title ‘managing recruitment, selection and appointments lawfully’. Outline the key points of the principles of discrimination law in recruitment, selection and employment that you would include in your presentation, and also include detail on how contracts of employment are established

The training session should focus on the key legal acts and norms that regulate employment relations in the UK as well as the key procedures that are involved in the resolution of disputes and enforcement of the employment law, including the tribunal and the court ruling.

One of the fundamental legal norms that regulate the employment relations in the UK is the Equality Act of 2010 which bans discrimination in the workplace environment and enhances other anti-discrimination legal acts, such as Sex Discrimination Act of 1975 which bans the gender discrimination in the workplace environment and the Race Relations Act of 1976 which bans the racial discrimination in the workplace environment.

The anti-discrimination legislation focuses not only on the prevention in the workplace environment but also in other fields, for example, education. Therefore, the training sessions should also prevent the risk of any sort of discrimination. For example, when line managers conduct the training program for employees or non-employees of the company, they have to avoid any discrimination and comply with requirements of the anti-discrimination legislation which bans any sort of discrimination.

Recruitment, selection and appointments should occur lawfully that means with the compliance with the existing legal norms.

The key points of the principles of discrimination law in recruitment, selection and employment include the respect to diversity, the focus on the qualification and professional skills of applicants or candidate, their professional and personal features should be measured with disregard to their gender, race, age, etc.

Furthermore, line managers should be bias free, when they make their decisions on the employment, promotion or selection of employees. Instead, they should consider professional skills and capabilities of professionals to perform target tasks or jobs and select those professionals for the fulfillment of their professional duties (Lin, 2004). In such a situation, line managers should consider professional skills and tasks or functions employees will have to perform. Such approach will help them to make right decisions and choices which are bias-free and discrimination-free.

3. Your organisation is planning a major reorganisation that will involve relocating some people to other sites and outsourcing a major function to a sub-contractor. Summarise when and how contracts can be changed lawfully, the main requirements of redundancy laws, and the main requirements of the law on business transfers.

The reorganisation of the organisation may raise the problem of the relocation of employees to other sites that may come into conflict with the employment law and regulations that focus on the prevention of the unlawful layoffs and cases of redundancy. In this regard, outsourcing increase the risk of loss of jobs by some employees in the company which may be transferred to other units or simply lose their job as the company outsource some functions to a sub-contractor.

To prevent any violations of existing regulations concerning the employment law and regulations of employment relations, the employer should be as transparent as possible in regard to the possible redundancy to come as the company will cut jobs and offer transfers to others. the transparency is essential for the organisation to complete the change lawfully and to avoid any legal action from the part of employees, who lose their job in the course of the reorganisation.

In this regard, the major reason for the lawful process of transferring and firing some employees is the relocation of the company that means that the company ceases its operations in the area and transfers some of its employees to another location.

However, such relocation does not justify the loss of jobs by employees, whose functions will be performed by sub-contractor. To address this issue, the organisation may refer to the fact that the company ceases its operations that require certain jobs because those functions and jobs will be performed by the sub-contractor (Pine & Gilmore, 1999). In such a way, the company ceases some operations and functions and, thus, the company does not need some employees anymore. Hence, the loss of those jobs becomes legally correct and complies with the employment law.

At the same time, the company should communicate clearly and openly all the issues related to the upcoming redundancy. To put it more precisely, the company should provide the information on jobs at risk. The company should also reveal the information on reasons for the redundancy which is the relocation and outsourcing to optimise its performance and to complete the relocation of the organisation.

The company should also provide clear criteria for redundancy so that employees could understand, who is at risk and why. For example, the company will fire employees performing specific jobs or holding specific positions which are outsourced or the company will fire under-performing employees, while others are transferred. Anyway, the company should provide clear criteria for redundancy so that employees understood who is going to lose the job and why, i.e. on the ground of which criteria.

If possible, the company should offer alternatives to employees, who are going to lose the job at the company. Such option is very important because it will not only comply with existing legal norms but it will also uncover the corporate social responsibility of the company and its ability to take care of its employees, even when the company has to cut jobs. In this regard, the company may offer alternatives for redundancy with an opportunity for employees to stay within the company but to change their position or to relocate along with the company. In terms of alternatives, the company may offer the redeployment so that employees are just transferred to other units of the company or are relocated along with the company and continue their work on the new site. The company may offer some of its employees early retirement option since some employees, who are approaching the retirement plan may choose this option as the company offers a decent compensation plan for them. In such a way, job cuts will not be harmful for employees, who prefer early retirement to relocation or loss of their job without the option of retirement. Also the company may offer voluntary redundancy which is still a possible option for employees, who grow frustrated or dissatisfied with their position in the company or simply want to transfer to a different company, or find a different way for their career development.

The company should not stick to one alternative only. Instead, the company should offer all of the aforementioned alternatives so that the possibly larger number of employees have got involved into the redundancy voluntarily. Some employees may prefer early retirement, others will prefer to abandon the company voluntarily, while some employees can take a chance and relocate along with the company or transfer to a different unit of the company. The more options the company offers the better for the company and its employees. This is why the transparency and the detailed information about the upcoming redundancy and organisational changes are very important. Transparency helps to reach employees fast and to decrease the risk of their resistance to the change. Transparency can also help the company to prevent any legal action initiated by employees or the union.

At the same time, the company cannot take decisions one-sidedly. Instead, the company should engage representatives of employees, for example, leaders of the union, into the negotiation of the upcoming redundancy (Gitlow, 1997). The communication with employees via their representative will help to reduce the risk of conflict and reduce the dissatisfaction and anxiety of employees caused by the lack of information and trust to the employer. Instead, employees will be certain that the company will do its best to meet interests of employees and to minimise harms caused by the relocation of the company and related reorganisation.

Consultations between the employer and employees should last for  30-45 days depending on the size of the company but the month is basically enough to come up with a plausible solution to the problem of redundancy. Consultations should persist throughout the reorganisation process as well because some issues may emerge that will require consultations with representatives of employees to prevent their collective action and minimise their dissatisfaction with the organisational change. Consultations help the organisation to prevent disputes that may slow down the reorganisation process and may require the tribunal or court’s ruling. This is why consultations should carry on until the end of the reorganisation and redundancy.

Furthermore, when the company defines criteria for redundancy and communicates them to employees, the introduction of the redundancy plan should start. In this regard, the company should provide redundancy notice for its employees, who are about to lose their jobs. Depending on the time employees work in the company, they should receive redundancy notices within one – twelve weeks period or even more, if the employer considers it reasonable. Even though such requirements slow down the reorganisation process, but the compliance with such requirements will prevent risks of disputes and lawsuits filed by fired employees against the company. 

Finally, the company still has to consider compensations for employees, who overall lose their job and choose either alternative offered by the company. Compensations should be decent and comply with existing legal norms. The point is to provide compensations for employees to minimise the risk of the collective action or any lawsuits filed by employees against the company.

4. You are asked to summarise for managers the key issues they need to consider to manage pay, leave and working time lawfully. Ensure you include the major statutory rights, equal pay, and maternity, paternity and other family-friendly employment rights.

Managers should be aware of issues that emerge in terms of the payment and employment benefits employees can and do receive from the company. To manage pay, leave and working time properly, managers should be aware of the key principles and legal norms that regulate those issues. Managers should be aware of the compliance with minimum wage norms established by the government to ensure that employees of the company receive the minimum wages which they have to receive under the existing law.

At the same time, managers should pay a particular attention to the overwork. If employees work longer hours than they are supposed to, their wages increase and, as a rule, companies pay twice as much for an overwork hour as they normally pay for an hour of work. At this point, it is worth mentioning the fact that normally employees work 48 hours a week but the company may negotiate with employees the option of longer work hours per week within a limited period, such as a week or month. For example, if some seasonal changes increase the demand on the labour force, the company may negotiate with employees and come to agreement to provide employees with the extra payment for overwork, while employees agree to work more than 48 hours per week. At the moment, the period of such overwork is possible for 17 weeks at average. Anyway, such periods have to be negotiated.

Managers should also take into consideration that employees will have 20 days plus 8 bank holidays or 5.6 week per year which employees spend in leave. The company may also negotiate the term of the leave with employees but the company cannot reduce it but only extend. However, as a rule, extension is very seldom.

Also, the company should provide breaks for employees during the workday, if they work longer than six hours. Employees should have 20 minutes break at least, but longer breaks may be negotiated and the employer should negotiate with employees the break period because employees may feel dissatisfied with too short break period, while the company may not admit longer breaks because of the specificity of the production  process, for example. Managers should also be aware of the 11 hour breaks between work days that means that employees should have at least 11hours of rest before they return to work. Employees should also have at least one day off each week. In case of night work, employees cannot work more than eight hours per 24 hours.

With regard to existing regulations, managers may consider different options of employment. For example, managers may consider the part-time employment as an alternative to the full time employment because it does not have such strict regulations concerning work hours and rest of employees. Part time employees can perform their job and be replaced by other part-time employees. Such approach is important, when the uninterrupted process takes place as is the case of mass production lines, for example .

The major statutory rights of employees managers have to respect and comply with is the right to work, decent payment and having a rest. These are fundamental statutory rights granted by the UK employment law to employees. Employees work and have to fulfil their professional duties in terms of their contract with the employer (Hastings, 2006). The employer, in return, will have to provide the reasonable payment for the job performed by employees. Employees also have the right to have a rest, including breaks during workdays, day offs, holidays, and others. If employees over work, they have to receive the higher payment compared to their average hourly payment. The overwork payment is higher compared to the regular hourly payment.

One of the main issues to consider for managers of the company is the equal pay which is regulated by the Equal Pay Act of 2010 which imposes the obligation on employers to pay the equal amount of money for employees, who perform the same job or the same functions. This act intends to prevent the discrimination of some employees which was often the case in the past, when women, for example, received lower wages compared to men.

In addition, managers should take into considerations such issues as maternity, paternity and other family-friendly employment rights (Mohrman, 1998). Maternity and paternity provides employees with the right to have a medical leave to take care of their child immediately after the birth as well as in the time of the illness of the child, when the mother or father is the care giver , who provides the primary care for the child.

5. Identify the major requirements of health and safety law and the significance of implied duties as regards the management of employees at work. Then explain the principles of the law on freedom of association.

The safety of employees should be the primary concern of managers because they are responsible for the safety of employees. Managers have to create the safe workplace environment to prevent injuries and other health issues in employees. At this point, managers should be aware of their responsibility not only for the physical but also psychological health of employees. Often managers focus on the creation of the physically safe environment but fail to address psychological issues which make the workplace environment extremely stressful and devastating for the psychological health of employees.

The main legal act that regulates health-related issues in the workplace environment is the Health and Safety at Work Act of 1974. The major requirements of health and safety law concern the provision of safety of employees and the creation of the safe workplace environment. Managers should be aware of the fact that they should provide safe and healthy environment even for those professionals, who are not employees of their company as long as they are in their remit. The significance of implied duties as regards the management of employees at work can hardly be overestimated. The key principles emphasise the workplace safety as the priority for employers. Employers are accountable for the safety of employees and their health in the workplace environment. In such a way, the law creates conditions for the protection of employees from the negative impact of their work on their health and quality of living.

The principles of the law on freedom of association are also very important for the employment relations in the UK and managers should comply with those principles. The Human Rights Act of 1998 grants the right to the freedom of associations to employees in the UK. The freedom of associations means that employees are free to join the union or any other association that represents their interests in the employment relations. The main principle of the law on the freedom of associations is the non-interference of employers into associations of employees. Employers cannot raise any barriers on the way of employees to associate or to unionise. Employees are free in their associations and they can use associations to represent their interests in negotiations with the employer (Robbins & Finley, 1995). For example, associations of employees may represent interests of employees in tribunals or courts. There is no need of the involvement of all employees in disputes, when there is the union or another association that represents interests of employees. At the same time, another principle of the freedom of association is their freedom of non-employment attributes, such as the political background of such associations. In other words, associations of employees should focus on employment relations and related issues only. They cannot refer to other issues, as long as they exist within the workplace environment of employees. If the employer attempts to raise barriers on the way of employees to join their free associations, the law grants employees with the right to raise the grievance with the employer and to make a complaint to the industrial tribunal.

6. You work for a small organisation which has never had to take formal disciplinary action against an employee before. You suspect a serious case will be arising in the near future. Explain the main requirements of unfair dismissal law in respect of capability and misconduct issues, and the scope of the right for employees to be accompanied at serious discipline and grievance hearings.

The main requirements of unfair dismissal law concern the prevention of any discrimination or unfair actions or reasons that lead to the dismissal of employees. If employees fail to perform their duties or breach the contract, employees get the right to dismiss them under the existing law. On the other hand, employers cannot always fire employees because of the lack of capability or because of some misconduct issues only, unless they interfere into the professional performance of employees and do not breach the contract the employer has with the employees. At this point, managers should have signed contracts with employees to minimise the risk of disputes with employees, because contracts impose specific duties on employees, while the breach of duty is the fair reason or the employer to fire employee or impose certain punishment like fines for the breach of the contract. If there are no contractual obligations, then the margin for dispute opens. However, such cases or disputes occur only of there is the questionable correlation between the behaviour of the employee and the decision of the employer to fire the employee. For example, if an employee divorced and the employer fired him/her, this is an unfair reason for firing the employee because actions of the employee may possibly challenge moral values of the employer but they have nothing in common with professional duties of the employee. This is why such case is definitely in favour of the employee.

If employees misconduct and breach their duty, the employer has the right to dismiss employees. However, if their actions comply with their professional duties and functions and match the expected quality standard, the employer cannot simply dismiss the employee, unless the business is relocated or ceases to exist. In such cases, the dismissal becomes possible but it is not related to misconduct of the employee anymore. Hence, the fair dismissal for misconduct is possible, when the misconduct of the employee breaches his/her duties and/or contract.

The scope of the right for employees to be accompanied at serious discipline and grievance hearings is wide. Employees can count on the support of their unions or any other association or representative, who may represent their interests and stand for them in the course of the dispute, tribunal or even the court, if the case goes so far. Under Section 10 of the Employment Relations Act of 1999 an employee may be accompanied by a paid official of a trade union, an unpaid official of a trade union, or another employee, who is willing to accompany him/her.

References:

Gitlow, H. S. (1997). The Deming Guide to Quality and Competitive Position. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.

Hastings, R. R. (2006). Plan To Include Women, Minorities in Top Roles.
HR Magazine, 51 (10), 30.

Lin, Y. (2004). How to Hire Employees Effectively. Management Research
News,
27 (4/5), 108.4.

Mohrman, S. A. (1998). Tomorrow’s organization: Crafting winning capabilities in a dynamic world. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Pine, J. and Gilmore, J. (1999). The Experience Economy, Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

Robbins, H. and Finley, M. (1995). Why Teams Don’t Work: What Went Wrong and How to Make it Right. Princeton, N.J.: Peterson’s/Pacesetter Books.

The terms offer and acceptance. (2016, May 17). Retrieved from

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"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016.

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

freeessays.club (2016) The terms offer and acceptance [Online].
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[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

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