Online Solicitor

Archive for the ‘employment law’ Category

Absolutely anyone can ask their employer for flexible work arrangements, but only some actually have the legal right to do so. Even so, more people have the right than realise they do.
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Nearly half of new fathers don’t take paternity leave. As such, it is unsurprising that many people do not know the details of paternity leave: what leave and pay they are entitled to, and what commitments they have to make.

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Nights workers have various different rights to day workers, including the right to regular free health assessments, due to the health risks associated with working at night. This includes mobile workers and road transport workers, who are otherwise exempt from night working limits. Should a doctor diagnose night-work-related health problems in an employee, their employer must transfer them to daytime work where possible.
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Night workers are those who work for at least three hours during the night on regular days, most working days or an proportion of days agreed with their employer and trade union. Within employment law, night must be at least seven hours long, including the period between 00:00 and 05:00. Normally this is defined as the period between 23:00 and 06:00, though employees and employers can agree to change this period.
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Most adult workers cannot be forced to work for longer than 48 hours per week and young workers (under 18) should not work longer than 40 hours a week. However, there are still some workers to whom this working time limit does not apply, including the armed forces, sea transport workers, domestic servants and workers who freely choose how long they work.
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Overtime is something with which we are all familiar. However, it may interest you to read that employees have no right to extra pay for working extra hours; nor is there a minimum amount of overtime pay, as long as the employee’s average pay rate doesn’t fall below minimum wage.
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Part-time work not only allows employees extra time for alternative commitments or hobbies, it also helps them reduce their stress levels, spend time with their family and look after any dependents. An important thing to bear in mind is that employees do not have to work a set number of hours before they gain employment rights; part-time employees may work less hours than full-time employees, but they have the same statutory employment rights. This includes the same rights to pay as full-time employees, as well as the same training opportunities, career-breaks and pro-rata holiday entitlement. Employers are also not allowed to discriminate against part-time employees when selecting employees for redundancy.

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Employment contracts are binding agreements to rights and responsibilities, but they can be changed. Employers may need to make changes to employment contracts because of changes in the law, market or economy; they may need to move the company, shut down or expand part of the company or even add a new element to the company. In these cases, employees may see their contracts change to reflect different rate of pay, different responsibilities for both employer and employee and even changes in the location of their job.

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Some employers choose to use a pay scheme that is directly related to the performance of their employees. In these cases, the better an employee performs, the more they are paid by their employer. Naturally, with differences in pay between employees, this is a highly delicate process that must be thoroughly considered. Although there is an element of discretion allowed, such decisions should be handled very carefully.

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An employment contract doesn’t necessarily have to be a written document in order to exist. As soon as somebody accepts a job offer and starts working for an employer, they become an employee with an employment contract and employment rights. The employee is, however, entitled to a written contract within two months of starting work, even if they are not going to be employed for that long. The contract, whether it is written down or not, constitutes an agreement between the employer and employee, in which there is a mutual understanding of one-another’s rights and responsibilities.

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