Legal News – Business, Personal and Up to date Law Stories
One year ago today, I launched the Online Solicitor and, to celebrate, I’m going to take the day off!
Instead of writing, I’m also going to post this picture; it wouldn’t take me the full 1000 words to make the same point, but it would take a fair few.
I do not own this picture. I found it here: www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2007/12/the_woes_of_web.html
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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As of tomorrow (01/07/2010), there will be significant changes made to the laws regarding smoking in vehicles, which will require many company vehicles to be smoke-free at all times. (more…)
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.
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.
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.
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.
A home-worker is somebody who only works from home. These people usually have practical jobs, though telecommunications and web-related jobs are also often conducted from home. There are advantages and disadvantages to working from home and the rights a home-worker has are entirely dependent on whether they are employed, self-employed or workers.
Although the amount of company, occupational or contractual sick pay to which employees are entitled depends on their specific employment contract, it must be more than the minimum statutory sick pay. All details surround company sick pay should be outlined in the employee’s written contract of employment, which they should receive within the first two months of employment. Similarly, if no company sick pay scheme exists, the contract should state this.