Employers' expectations and employees' rights and obligations

Employer and Employee statutory rights
1. Both employers and employees should understand their rights and responsibilities. This includes the Employment Rights Act 1996, the Equality Act 2010 and also Health and Safety Legislation in addition to any organisational practices and procedures (including employment status and minimum wage).
  1. The Equality Act 2010 strengthened previous anti-discrimination legilation and covers
    1. Age
    2. Disability
    3. Gender Reassignment
    4. Marriage and Civil partnerships
    5. Pregnancy and Maternity
    6. Race
    7. Religion or belief
    8. Sex and Sexual Orientation
  2. The Equality act covers four types of disrimination
    1. Direct discrimination
    2. Indirect discrimination
    3. Harassment
    4. Victimisation
2. You should be aware of, and understand documentation/procedures within your organisation regarding your relationship with your employer. This should include training in Health and Safety and also Equality and Diversity. e.g. Health and Safety mandatory training
3. You should be aware of, and understand what sources of information/advice are available with regard to employment rights and responsibilities e.g. Employee handbook
4. You should understand how the role of your occupation fits within your organisation
5. You should be aware of the different career pathways available to you
6. You should be aware of representative bodies available to your occupation, including their roles and responsibilities.
7. You should be aware of how to access information and advice on your particular industry and occupation as well as training and career progression.
8. You should be able to describe codes of practice within your organisation
Employer and employees standards of personal presentation, punctuality and behaviour
1. Each organisation/industry should have expected/acceptable standards clearly documented. Employees are required to comply with organisational policies, procedures and codes of conduct. You should be aware of these policies and procedures, including:
  1. Codes of Practice
  2. Employee Handbook
  3. Terms and Conditions of employment
  4. Disciplinary Procedures
Procedures and documents which protect relationships with employees
1. Contracts of Employment
  1. All employees have an employment contract with their employer. A contract is an agreement that sets out an employee’s:
    1. Employment conditions
    2. Rights
    3. Responsibilities
    4. Duties
  2. Employees and employers must stick to a contract until it ends (eg by an employer or employee giving notice or an employee being dismissed) or until the terms are changed (usually by agreement between the employee and employer). As soon as someone accepts a job offer they have a contract with their employer. An employment contract doesn’t have to be written down. The legal parts of a contract are known as ‘terms’. An employer should make clear which parts of a contract are legally binding. Contract terms could be:
    1. in a written contract, or similar document like a written statement of employment
    2. verbally agreed
    3. in an employee handbook or on a company notice board
    4. in an offer letter from the employer
    5. required by law (eg an employer must pay employees at least the National Minimum Wage)
    6. in collective agreements - negotiated agreements between employers and trade unions or staff associations
    7. implied terms - automatically part of a contract even if they’re not written down
2. Implied Terms
  1. If there’s nothing clearly agreed between you and your employer about a particular issue, it may be covered by an implied term - for example:
    1. employees not stealing from their employer
    2. your employer providing a safe and secure working environment
    3. a legal requirement like the right to a minimum of 5.6 weeks’ paid holidays
    4. something necessary to do the job like a driver having a valid licence
    5. something that’s been done regularly in a company over a long time like paying a Christmas bonus
3. Working Hours
  1. The working time regulation govern the hours most workers can work and set:
    1. Limits on an average working week
    2. statutory entitlement to paid leave for most workers
    3. limits on the normal hours of night work and regular health assessments
    4. Special Regulations for young workers
  2. The Regulations apply to workers whether part- or full-time, including the majority of agency workers and freelancers, although certain categories of workers are excluded. The way working hours are arranged can help an organisation to manage its business and help workers balance their responsibilities at work and at home. Working hours can greatly affect work-life balance. Many businesses are under pressure to satisfy demands 24/7 and must balance this with the needs of their workers. This is leading to a rise in a more flexible working approach, which includes flexitime, shift work, job sharing or home-working.
  3. The Working Time Regulations determine the maximum weekly working time, pattern of work and holidays, plus the daily and weekly rest periods. They also cover the health and working hours of night workers. There are a small number of exceptions: certain regulations may be excluded or modified by a collective or workforce agreement, and certain categories of worker are excluded. In general the Working Time Regulations provide rights to:
    1. a limit of an average 48 hours a week on the hours a worker can be required to work, though individuals may choose to work longer by "opting out"
    2. 5.6 weeks' paid leave a year
    3. 11 consecutive hours' rest in any 24-hour period
    4. one day off each week
    5. a 20-minute rest break if the working day is longer than six hours
    6. a limit on the normal working hours of night workers to an average eight hours in any 24-hour period, and an entitlement for night workers to receive regular health assessments.
  4. There are special regulations for young workers, which restrict their working hours to eight hours per day and 40 hours per week. The rest break is 30 minutes if their work last more than four and a half hours. They are also entitled to two days off each week. Any proposals to change patterns of working are best carried out in a consultative way, explaining the reasons behind such a move and the benefits which may accrue to both the organisation and worker.
4. Maternity, paternity, parental and adoption leave
  1. Statutory Maternity Leave
    1. Eligible employees can take up to 52 weeks’ maternity leave. The first 26 weeks is known as ‘Ordinary Maternity Leave’, the last 26 weeks as ‘Additional Maternity Leave’. The earliest leave can be taken is 11 weeks before the expected week of childbirth. Employees must take at least 2 weeks after the birth (or 4 weeks if they’re a factory worker).
    2. Statutory Maternity Pay
      1. SMP for eligible employees can be paid for up to 39 weeks, usually as follows: the first 6 weeks - 90% of their average weekly earnings (AWE) before tax the remaining 33 weeks - £138.18 or 90% of their AWE (whichever is lower) Tax and National Insurance need to be deducted.
  2. Statutory Paternity Leave
    1. Eligible employees can choose to take either 1 week or 2 consecutive weeks’ leave - even if they have more than one child (eg twins). Leave can’t start before the birth. The start date must be one of the following:
      1. The actual date of birth
      2. an agreed number of days after the birth
      3. an agreed number of days after the expected week of childbirth
      4. Leave must finish within 56 days of the birth (or due date if the baby is early). The start and end dates are different if the employee is adopting
  3. Statutory paternity pay
    1. Statutory Paternity Pay for eligible employees is either £138.18 a week or 90% of their average weekly earnings (whichever is lower). Paternity pay can only be paid while the employee is on paternity leave. Tax and National Insurance need to be deducted.
5. Holiday Entitlement
  1. All workers have a statutory right to at least 5.6 weeks paid annual leave, which is 28 days paid holiday if you work five days a week. Your employer could choose to include bank holidays in the 5.6 weeks. There is a minimum right to paid holiday, but your employer may offer more than this. The main things you should know about holiday rights are:
    1. you are entitled to a minimum of 5.6 weeks paid annual leave (28 days for someone working five days a week)
    2. those working part-time are entitled to the same level of holiday pro rata, currently this is 5.6 times your usual working week for example. 22.4 days for someone working four days a week.
    3. you start building up holiday as soon as you start work
    4. your employer can control when you take your holiday
    5. you get paid your normal pay for your holiday
    6. when you finish a job, you get paid for any holiday you’ve not taken
    7. you continue to be entitled to your holiday leave throughout your ordinary and additional maternity leave and paternity and adoption leave
    8. bank and public holidays can be included in your minimum entitlement
Sources of information and advice on employment rights and responsibilities
1. Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) www.acas.org.uk
2. Citizens Advice www.citizensadvice.org.uk
3. Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) www.gov.uk/dwp
4. Federation for Industry Sector Skills and Standards (FISSS) www.sscalliance.org
5. Health and Safety Executive (HSE) www.hse.gov.uk
6. National Apprenticeship Service - England (NAS) www.apprenticeships.org.uk
7. Skills CFA www.skillscfa.org
8. Trade Unions Congress (TUC) http://www.tuc.org.uk

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Employers' expectations and employees' rights and obligations

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