Employment Services

Employment Law

Frequently Asked Questions on Employment Law

Q How long do I have to work to qualify for statutory rights?

A That depends on the right, as different rights have different qualifying periods. For example, the right not to be unfairly dismissed and the right to a redundancy payment arise after one year of continuous employment. Some rights have no qualifying period; e.g. sex, race or disability discrimination, national minimum wage, working time and statutory minimum holiday entitlement.

Q How much holiday am I entitled to?

A That depends on your contract, but the statutory minimum is 20 working days per year.

Q My employer hasn't paid my usual bonus this year, because he says he can't afford it. Doesn't he have to pay me?

A He may say it is discretionary, but your entitlement may have become contractual, especially if it has been paid regularly. If you do have a contractual entitlement, you can make a claim for unlawful deduction from wages.

Q I have a heavy workload, am having to work a lot of unpaid overtime, and am suffering from the stress. How do I get my employer to allocate more resources to the job?

A If you are working more than 48 hours a week on average, your employer is likely to be in breach of the Working Time Regulations. He also owes you a duty to provide a safe system of work, which includes taking reasonable care to avoid causing you psychological injury from stress. Use your company's grievance procedure to raise your concerns, and make sure your employer is aware of the effects of stress you are suffering.

Q My wife is having a baby, and my employer won't allow me any time off. Is he right?

A If you have completed one year of continuous employment, you have the right to take 13 weeks unpaid parental leave per child between the date of birth and the child's fifth birthday. You have to give at least 21 days notice, and the employer can in certain circumstances postpone the leave, but not if you are taking the leave immediately after the child is born.

Q I'm a woman in a male-dominated workplace, and have to put up with continual sexist remarks. My boss treats it as a joke. What can I do?

A Harassment can amount to sex discrimination, for which the employer can be liable if he has failed to control his employees. If you were to resign, you could have claims for unfair dismissal and/or sex discrimination. Use your company's grievance procedure to get your employer to take the matter seriously.

Q Employers: Do we have to give our employees contracts?

A All employees who have been employed for longer than one month are entitled to a written statement of certain particulars of their terms of employment within two months after they start. The particulars can be given in a simple statement or included in a full written contract of employment. An example statement is available for free on this web site.

Q Do we have to give our directors contracts too?

A If they receive a salary, they are employees, and have the same right to a written statement of particulars.

Q Have much notice of dismissal do I have to give an employee?

A It depends what the contract of employment says. If nothing has been agreed, you must give "reasonable notice", which depends upon seniority, length of service and what is normal in the industry. In any case, the statutory minimum period of notice is one week per year of continuous employment up to a maximum of 12 weeks. You cannot agree less than this in a contract of employment, but if nothing has been agreed and reasonable notice applies, it may well be longer than the statutory minimum. This is an important reason for having written contracts of employment.

Q We want to get rid of an employee who has been with us for 11 months. Her contract says she is entitled to 1 month's notice. Can she claim unfair dismissal?

A If you were to dismiss her without notice, in breach of contract, and the statutory minimum notice of one week would not take her over a year, she could not claim unfair dismissal. However, her claim for damages for breach of contract could include the loss of the right to claim unfair dismissal.

Q We're having to make some redundancies. Do we have to follow any procedures?

A If you are proposing to dismiss 20 or more employees at the same establishment within 90 days, you must notify the Department for Education and Employment and consult with the employees' trade union or other elected representatives. In any case of redundancy, you must also individually consult all the employees who may potentially be selected. Matters for consultation include ways of avoiding compulsory redundancies, the selection criteria, and any compensation and help to affected employees. This is a tricky area, and you should take legal advice.

Q We want to change our terms and conditions of employment. How do we do this?

A Unless your contracts allow it, you cannot change terms of employment without the employees' agreement. If you make a substantial change, and an employee resigns in protest, he can claim constructive unfair dismissal. You should therefore consult the employees and obtain their agreement in writing to the changes. Be particularly careful if the change is in connection with the transfer of a business. Again, you should take legal advice.

Q We're having a group reorganisation. Do we really have to consult our employees?

A You are required by the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 (commonly known as "TUPE") to consult with your employees' trade union or other elected representatives before any transfer of a business (not a sale of shares), even one within the group. If there are to be no redundancies or changes in terms and conditions, this should be a fairly straightforward exercise.