Employment Law: Rights, Regulations, and Disputes

This document provides an overview of employment law in the United Kingdom, including aims and objectives, role of employment tribunal, key principles of discrimination law, establishment of employment contract, process for managing a variation of contract, requirements of redundancy law, and more.

Employment Law

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
Aims and objectives of Employment law............................................................................3
Role of employment Tribunal and Other courts...............................................................4
Process of dispute settlement before and after the process under the employment
tribunal..................................................................................................................................5
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................6
Key principles of discrimination law during recruitment, selection and employment..6
Establishment of employment Contract.............................................................................6
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................7
Explain the process for managing a variation of contract......................................................7
Requirement of redundancy law.........................................................................................7
Explain main requirements of the law on business transfer............................................8
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................9
Statutory rights of workers in the field of pay, leave and working time.........................9
Requirements of equal pay law.........................................................................................10
Maternity, paternity and other family friendly employment rights..............................10
Requirement of health and safety law..............................................................................11
Implied Duties of contract of employment.......................................................................12
Principles of law on Freedom of Association...................................................................13
TASK 5..........................................................................................................................................13
Unfair dismissal law in respect of capabilities and issues of misconduct......................13
Rights of employees during formal disciplinary or grievance hearing.........................14
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................16
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................17

INTRODUCTION
The jobs law in the United Kingdom governs the relationship between staff, contractors,
and labour unions and their employers. Employees are seen as a company's most valuable
commodity in any organization. The legislation distinguishes between three groups of people:
employers, contractors, and self-employed persons. Employees are granted the greatest number
of privileges compared to the other two categories of people (Collins and et. al., 2019). The
primary goal of employment law is to safeguard these persons' interests so that no employer can
take unfair advantage of them or misuse them in any way. This act protects not only the rights of
workers, but also the rights of managers, as well as the roles and obligations that they must fulfil
with respect to the employees who work for them. The Employments Rights Act, the Equity Act,
the Minimum wages Act, and other acts fall under the umbrella of work law in the United
Kingdom (UK). This report discuss about the laws of employment that also relates to the rights
of workers, organisational change, contract of employment, discrimination at workplace and
unfair dismissal.
MAIN BODY
TASK 1
Aims and objectives of Employment law
The law of employment was introduced with an aim to legally protect the rights of both
the employee and employer. The law provides protection to the employees working in a
organisation from its employer in case of exploitation (Liukkunen, 2017). This law helps in
regulating the relationship between both of them. The main objectives of the said law are
provided below:
 UK being part of European law had to inculcate the law of employment in its domestic
law so to adhere with it.
 The rights provided under the act are aimed to provide a balance in the expectations of
job of the employees with that of their fair treatment at workplace.
 The law aims at providing people with social justice so that they get access to fairness
and other rights at workplace. Social justice will help employees in providing them with
equality and equal opportunities at workplace.

Role of employment Tribunal and Other courts
The employment Tribunals in UK are public body are part of the Tribunal system of UK
which is regulated by the tribunal council and Administrative Justice. The main role of the
regulating authorities is that they listen to the parties, interpret laws and then deliver decision to
the parties in dispute i.e. employer and employee. The role of the tribunal is to provide justice to
the parties by resolving the disputes raised between them at the organisation or any other place of
work (Haddon, 2018). The matter in the tribunal mainly relates to: breach of contract,
discrimination, unfair dismissal, etc. It is not always possible to take every matter to court and
this is the reason various Tribunals were formed. In the case of R. v. Lord Chancellor, it was
held by the court that the Employment tribunals are very important that helps in enforcing
legislations relating to the employment.
Illustration 1: Court structure UK, 2021

The court takes the matter of employment law only when the matter is not resolved by the
tribunal or the parties are not satisfied with its decision. The process followed by the parties
regarding any employment dispute are as follows:
 The matter of dispute is presented before the ACAS i.e. Advisory, Conciliation and
arbitration Service.
 When the parties are not satisfied with the decision or advise of the ACAS, they
approach Employment tribunal.
 Not being satisfied with the order of Employment tribunal, parties may appeal to the
Employment appeal Tribunal.
 Not being satisfied with the above, parties approach County courts and then the High
Court to resolve the matter.
 Lastly when the matter is still not resolved, parties approach supreme Court which is the
highest of all courts and the decision of it is binding upon the parties.
Process of dispute settlement before and after the process under the employment tribunal
If any dispute takes place between an employer and an employee then the parties to the
dispute may approach employment tribunal for settlement of such dispute.
 Within three months of the conflict, the aggrieved party approaches ACAS (Nicholas and
et. al., 2018). Conciliation, mediation, litigation, and other methods of conflict resolution
are available to the parties. A mediator is named during the consultation process, and he
or she makes recommendations to the parties. In the arbitration process, an arbitrator is
named to evaluate the whole case and make a determination that is binding on all sides.
The conciliation process entails the appointment of a conciliator who will meet with the
parties and attempt to persuade them to reach a consensus.
 The case if not settled by the parties within 6 weeks then the ACAS will issue formal
certificate to bring the early services for conciliation. And if within this time the parties
do not wish to continue with these services, then the certificate will be issued which will
immediately stop the issuance.
 One month duration is provided to lodge the claim with the employment tribunal after the
certificate is issued by the ACAS.

 The said claim is lodged in an ET1 form which is reviewed by the tribunal. In this stage it
is assumed that the claim is accepted by the tribunal. The employer in this situation will
have duration of 28 days in which they have to submit their response in ET3 Form.
 The employer after this frame the arguments. Tribunal sets the dates fro preliminary
hearings and then the final case is heard by the authorities (Rosamond, 2019). At the time
of hearing, witnesses are called, evidences are presented and also cross examination is
done.
 Lastly the judgement is provided by the regulating authorities on the same day or on the
date provided.
TASK 2
Key principles of discrimination law during recruitment, selection and employment
There are no specific laws made that governs selection and recruitment but there are
many laws that relates to the employment. One of such law is Equality Act of 2010, related to
discrimination. This law protects individuals rights and provide equal opportunity to every
individual.
The principles of discrimination law during selection and recruitment are as follows:
 The employer must see to it that they are not discriminating between the employees at the
time of section or making recruitments.
 Fair and equal opportunities must be provided by the employers to all the employees. The
act strictly prohibits discrimination and non compliance of it is punishable.
 The employer is expected to provide reasonable adjustments when a job applicant is with
any disability.
 The employer must not provide any instructions to the agency of employment related to
discrimination as this is unlawful and punishable by law under the said act (Kandrot and
et. al., 2020).
Establishment of employment Contract
A contract of employment is a form of contract under which an employer directs the
work of his or her workers. This policy outlines the interests, roles, and obligations of both the
employee and the employer in the working arrangement. It is necessary to have an employment
contract in order for the parties to be bound by the terms of the job. The employee gets their job

contract within two months of their start date. There are a few basic provisions of the work
contract that must be followed.
The contract's terms are both implicit and explicit. The phrases that are explicitly stated
in the job contract will be called expressed terms. For instance, business rules, operating hours,
leaves and payments, and so on. Implied terms of contract are those that are not explicitly stated
in work contracts but are assumed or implied to be observed (Ahsan, 2020). For starters,
reciprocal trust and confidence, and so on.
TASK 3
Explain the process for managing a variation of contract.
As contract can become possible only when there must be involvement of two parties are
exist. Contract can bind both the parties through their mutual consent. In future if parties deny to
work as per the terms and conditions of contract and want to make change in the contract deed
than it can be do so only if any clause related to variation are present in the contract deed
regarding it. Also variation can be done through mutual understanding of parties who are
involved in the contract. But on the other hand if it is specifically specify in the deed that
variation is next to impossible than both the parties cannot make any alteration in the existing
contract. As well as to serve the purpose of variation new document can be create and as per the
requirement stamp duty can be imposed.
Requirement of redundancy law
Employment dismissal is the most common method of redundancy. This is the condition
that happens when an employer wants to decrease the number of workers working in his
company or when the number of employees is no longer needed at the workplace. This is a
condition about which the boss has no real influence, such as when the company is losing money
and the employers need to slash costs or fire employees. When an employee is made redundant,
they are entitled to the following benefits:
 Redundancy pay only in case where an employee has worked for more than two years. A
consultation is done with the employer.
 An option is provided to move to another job.
 A notice period is provided to the employee.

 Time is allotted to the employee so that they can find another job meanwhile.
Section 139 of the employment rights act, 1996 explains the meaning or word
Redundancy (Carrigan and Radan, 2020). The law states that the employees may be is missed by
the employer from their job for the reason of redundancy only if:
 The employer is unable to carry out the business activities of the place where such an
employee is employed, or
 The requirement to carry out the business activities of such business is no longer needed
and such a workplace is no longer needed or is about to be diminished.
Explain main requirements of the law on business transfer
The undertaking can only be passed in one of two forms. They are: where a company is
moved or when the provision of its services varies. The “Transfer of Undertaking (Protection of
Employment) Regulations Act, 2006” is the legislation that safeguards employees' interests
during a transfer of undertaking. This act preserves workers' interests by allowing them to
continue operating on the same terms and conditions as before under a new owner.
When an employee is moved due to a company move and does not receive the same
position as before, he or she has the right to file a lawsuit with an employment tribunal on the
basis of wrongful dismissal (Gritter, 2017). If the employee is held in the same position but the
terms and conditions are worsened, the employee has the right to void their contract and file a
claim for wrongful dismissal on the grounds that the boss was compelled to resign from his
position.
The rights of the employees under the said act are discussed below:
 The terms and conditions of the contract must be the same of the employees which was
before.
 The employees regarding the transfer must firstly be consulted and informed.
 The employees on a vague reason of transfer must not be dismissed.
 The employment must be treated of employers continuance by the new owner or
employer

TASK 4
Statutory rights of workers in the field of pay, leave and working time
There are several statutes that fall under the umbrella of work law. Any statute provides
employees with a variety of benefits to ensure that they are not abused at work and that they
receive fair and equitable care. Employers have a responsibility to offer fair care to their workers
and to uphold their interests. The following are the employee's contractual protections in terms of
leave, payment, and working time:
Pay
The statutory rights which are provided to the employees and workers are stated under
the national minimum wages act, under which they are entitled to get minimum wages for the
work done by them (Chica‐Olmo and Checa‐Olivas, 2021). According to the law every
employee with Above the age of 25 years shall receive minimum payment of £8.21 per hour,
those employees between age 21 to 24 will receive £7.70 per hour, employees between 18 to 20
age group are entitled to receive £6.15 per hour and the employees who are under the age of 18
years or entitled for to receive £4.35 per hour. The minimum wages of the employee increases
every year in April.
Working time
The working time regulation act of 1998 helps him regulating working days of the
employees. This act helps in regulating all the holidays, daily breaks etc. of the employees. The
act provide guidelines under which maximum working hours per week is set to be 48 hours. The
workers under this act are entitled to receive minimum of 28 holidays in a year, in a period of 24
hours. There shall be eight hours of working and a minimum of 20 minute break for each six
hours of working. If an employee is working at night then the working time is maximum of eight
hours in a period of total 24 hours which is commonly known as night shift.
Leaves
In UK it is a statutory right of all the workers to get at least 5.6 weeks of paid leave in an
year, that means total of 28 days of paid leaves are entitled to the workers when they're working
five days in a week. In England and Great Britain there are 8 permanent public holidays provided
to workers but not to the bank employees.
The rights provided to workers are as follows:
 Get paid leaves.

 Entitled to maternity, maternity and adoption leaves.
 Sickness leaves in case an employee is sick.
Requirements of equal pay law
Employees, interns, full-time, part-time, workers, agency workers, etc. are all covered by
the fair pay legislation (Gammage, Sultana and Glinski, 2020). Fair compensation is based on the
following criteria: Similar jobs: Where the task and qualifications are similar or identical. Work of equal value: In this case, the work is not identical, but it is of equal value. This
may be attributed to a lack of fair value preparation, ability, demand, or obligation in
working conditions.
 Work scored as equivalent: This method mostly relies on a realistic job assessment. This
may be due to a similar level of ability, responsibility, or initiative.
When the job is close in nature but the salary is different, an exception to the rule of fair
pay which arise in the following circumstances:
 the worker is better suited and their qualifications are more important to the job
 the job position is different
 the person is more relaxed working the night shift.
The Equality Act of 2010 controls the equal pay statute by banning discrimination and
encouraging equality in the workplace. This legislation requires employers to pay all employees
equally and fairly, regardless of their protected qualifications, such as gender, ethnicity, or
nationality. The government of the United Kingdom requires businesses to track and post data on
the gender wage disparity before the end of each financial year (Tian and Zhang, 2021). In most
businesses, there is a wage gap based on gender, which is illegal under the Equality Act 2010.
Maternity, paternity and other family friendly employment rights
Female workers have had maternal rights for several years, but male employees and
adoptive parents have only recently gained this privilege. The following are the constitutional
paternity, pregnancy, and adoption rights:
 Right to take time off in case of an emergency
 The right to expect flexible working hours, Unpaid maternity leave is a legal right.

Maternity leave:
 The right to maternity leave, which requires a two-week statutory leave after giving birth
to an infant and a four-week leave if the mother works in a factory.
 Statutory maternity leave, which allows a woman to take a maximum of 52 weeks off. Shared parental leave is when one or both parents take time off together.
Maternity pay: Mothers are entitled to up to 39 weeks of paid parental leave under the law.
Paternity Leave:
 Paternity leave is limited to two weeks, and paternity pay is comparable to maternity pay.
 Right to apply to the same position with the same pay and benefits. Right to be free of all prejudice, wrongful dismissal, or treatment.
Recent Amendments
The Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Act of 2018 has been amended to allow the
ability of working parents to take two weeks of bereavement leave after the death of a child,
which would be paid at a fixed rate if the parent has worked for 26 weeks.
The government proposed new neonatal leave and pay entitlements for working parents
whose child requires long-term neonatal treatment in its March 2020 budget. The state, not the
contractor, would pay 160 pounds a week for a period of 12 weeks of leave.
Requirement of health and safety law
There are several laws pertaining to health and safety that have overarching
responsibilities on both the boss and the employee. Employers have an obligation to the public as
well as their staff, and workers have a responsibility to each other and to themselves.
The Health and Safety at Work Act of 1974 specifies that employers shall take steps to
minimize or eradicate danger such that workers have a healthy working environment, and that
whether it is physically difficult to remove or reduce the risk, employers must not take those
measures (Rudman and Aldrich, 2021). Managers must provide proper guidance to employees so
that they are aware of safety protocols and can follow them. They must also provide appropriate
advice, oversight, and knowledge so that they can follow safety policies. Employers are expected
to monitor the health and safety of their workers under the Health and Safety at Work Act,
according to the Administration of Health and Safety at Work Regulations of 1999. When there

are more than 5 staff, the primary obligation is to perform a risk appraisal and provide health and
safety procedures in place.
The 1992 Workplace (Health, Sanitation, and Welfare) Regulations refer to every
workplace where the employer is responsible for providing a clean and suitable environment for
all work-related activities. The areas include the laundry, break areas, and drinking water, all of
which require proper ventilation, lighting, and work space.
Implied Duties of contract of employment
The owner owes certain obligations to the workforce in order to ensure that they are
handled successfully. The suggested responsibilities of the boss for employee management are
discussed below- To provide positive environment: The employer has a responsibility to maintain a
healthy working atmosphere in which no employee is threatened. Employees can resign
as a result of a hostile work climate, which is known as constructive dismissal. Paying salary/wages: The most important tacit obligation of an employer is to reward all
of its workers for the jobs they have done. If an employment contract defines sick leave,
the employer is expected to pay for a sufficient period of time. Duty to provide work: It is not a general requirement for the employer to give work to
workers before they are paid, but it is a responsibility that occurs where the employee has
a particular ability that needs work to retain it, or when the employee holds a senior role
(Farnham, 2017). Employee health and safety are the employer's responsibility: the employer must take
appropriate precautions to ensure that the workers' wellbeing and safety are not
jeopardized. There are a number of laws that require employers to have a healthy
working atmosphere for their workers.
 Shared trust and confidence: There are a variety of situations that may erode an
employee's mutual trust and confidence, such as verbal or physical violence, unjustified
disciplinary action, or sexual assault. No employer should do so without fair justification,
but it is an implicit obligation of the employer to be impartial in its conduct against all
workers and to preserve employee trust.

Principles of law on Freedom of Association
Employees have the freedom to affiliate with the group of their choosing, and this right
requires the opportunity to join and leave the group. It also provides the ability to operate
together on behalf of any particular member.
International law
Article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights specifies that "every citizen has
the right to freedom of peaceful speech and arbitration," and Article 23. 4 explicitly states that
"every individual has the right to join any trade union." Convention 87 on Freedom of
Association and the Security of the Right to Organise and Convention 98 on Right of Union and
Collective Bargaining are all given by the International Labour Organization.
National law
Article 11 of the Human Rights Act expands on this right, stating that "every person has
the right to peaceful assembly and the freedom to form associations with other citizens." It
provides the freedom to join any trade union of one's choosing. However, it imposes a restriction
on officials that curb this privilege. This privilege should only be exercised where the matter is
relevant to national security or public safety, protecting others' values, fitness, or freedom, or
preventing any crime or disorder.
TASK 5
Unfair dismissal law in respect of capabilities and issues of misconduct
When an employer terminates an employee's contract without cause, this is known as
unfair dismissal (Frey, 2017). Unfair firing often occurs where an employer has a legitimate
cause to fire an employee but follows the incorrect protocol of doing so. Employees have the
right to not be fired arbitrarily under the Employment Rights Act of 1996. To escape the legal
ramifications of wrongful dismissal, the employer must explain that-
 It has justifications for doing so.
 In both circumstances, the decision to terminate the person is rational.
Reasonable grounds for firing an employee include lack of skills or credentials, inability
to fulfil a contractual obligation, employee actions, redundancy, or some other substantive
purpose. To fire an employee for a just cause, the supervisor must have acted properly and fairly
in selecting the just cause for dismissal.

Misconduct Issues
Misconduct sometimes leads to dismissal. Any dishonesty offences, such as fraud or over
claiming costs, harassment of elderly persons or children, or violation of any health or safety law
that may threaten someone, fall within this category. To prove that there is a reasonable cause to
terminate on wrongdoing, the boss should rely on a single act of misconduct or a sequence of
actions. Disobedience to any fair order, unauthorised absence from work, industrial harassment,
or stealing are both examples of misbehaviour. Setting up a competent corporation, misusing the
company's property or brand, or causing property harm are all examples of gross misconduct.
Capabilities
Capability refers to a person's ability, which may be influenced by their physical or
mental fitness, as well as their aptitude. Since incapability differs from incompetence, any
underperformance or inflexible or unadaptable employee may be fired equally on the basis of
capacity. It is mostly categorized into two groups, the first of which is bad results and the second
of which is employee illness. Employers must be cautious whether firing is based on ill health
and it could be considered disabilities under the Equality Act, 2010, and they must ensure that
dismissal is not based on disability.
Rights of employees during formal disciplinary or grievance hearing
The provisions relating to occupational supervision and complaints are set out in the
Employment Act of 2008 and the Employment Tribunal (Constitution and Rules of Procedure)
Regulation of 2008. The ACAS code of conduct is also important. Employers are urged to settle
the issue themselves first, or to assign the matter to a third party by ACAS early conciliation
(Broecke, Forti and Vandeweyer, 2017). The Employment Tribunal can never be seen as a last
resort. The employee has the right to be accompanied to the grievance hearing, which ensures
they will bring another related party with them. A partner may be a co-worker, a labour union
officer, or a trade union delegate.
The companion should be allowed to attend the meeting under section 10 of the
Employment Relations Act so that it can present the worker's case and answer to the hearing on
his or her behalf. It also has the responsibility of summarizing the hearing on behalf of the
worker at the conclusion.

CONCLUSION
It is concluded from the above report that, Employment law is a wide discipline that
includes a number of statutes. The Civil Rights Act, the Health and Safety at Work Act, and
many more are among them. Both rules are intended to protect workers' interests from being
violated. An employment tribunal has been formed to hear cases that exist between employers
and workers. Employees have a number of rights under the constitution, including fair pay for
equal jobs, the right to be free of discrimination, and the right to work in a protected atmosphere,
among others. The employee also has the right not to be fired wrongly or incorrectly. They can
even join whatever organization or labour union they choose.

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