EMPLOYMENT LAW

EMPLOYMENT LAW: SESSION PLAN The purpose of employment law Discrimination law Dismissal law Health and safety law Hours and wages Family-friendly employment law Whistle-blowing law Enforcement HR and employment law

What you need to do This presentation will provide a general overview of employment law Once we have briefly discussed the slides you will be working in small groups. Each group will carry out more detailed research into one area. Your findings are to be presented as a poster display forming a time-line around the room

THE PURPOSE OF EMPLOYMENT LAW To deter employers from treating their employees unfairly or from exploiting them unjustly To help make work more attractive to people To promote flexibility in the labour market

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THE PURPOSE OF EMPLOYMENT LAW In practice most employment law exists to protect employees from unjust exploitation or unfair treatment by their employers. It is necessary because for the vast majority of workers, the employment relationship is very unequal in terms of the power that each side is able to exercise over the other.

THE PURPOSE OF EMPLOYMENT LAW Employers are vastly more powerful, making it relatively easy for them to abuse that power by treating their employees poorly, by dismissing them or discriminating against them for no good reason, underpaying and overworking them, or causing them to risk their heath, safety and welfare while at work.

In the early and middle years of the 20th century trade unions tended to offer employees a much greater level of protection than they are now able to, and so to an extent the state has had to step in to provide protection of the kind that strong unions with high levels of membership were once able to provide.

There are, however, two major further reasons behind employment regulation in today's economic context. 1. Governments want to use employment law to promote good practice in the employment relationship. 2. Governments want to promote flexibility and competition in the labour market

DISCRIMINATION LAW There are four headings under which an employer's actions can be challenged in court: direct discrimination (eg failing to promote a woman because she is a woman) indirect discrimination (eg requiring a devout employee to work on a holy day) victimization (eg refusing to give a reference to a former employee who brought a race discrimination claim against the organization) harassment (eg teasing someone about their sexual orientation)

DISMISSAL LAW Former employees who have completed more than two years service (one year if employed prior to April 2012) are entitled to seek compensation or re-instatement when they have been unfairly dismissed

HEALTH AND SAFETY LAW There are two distinct parts to health and safety law: 1. the criminal law, which is enforced by health and safety inspectors 2. personal injury law under which workers who suffer an injury at work or fall ill as a result of their work can sue their employer for damages

HOURS AND WAGES Two main legal provisions are: The Working Time Regulations 1998 National Minimum Wage regulations

FAMILY-FRIENDLY EMPLOYMENT LAW The major family-friendly rights that applied in 2013 were as follows for most employees: up to one year of maternity or adoptive leave nine months of maternity or adoptive pay the right to paid time off to attend ante- natal appointments

two week's statutory paternity leave additional paternity leave of up to 32 weeks once after a new mother has returned to work the right to time off to deal with family emergencies eighteen weeks unpaid parental leave during the first five year's of a child's life the right to request a change of contract in order to work more flexibly

WHISTLE-BLOWING LAW The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 protects employees who make a ‘protected disclosure’ from being treated badly or being dismissed

ENFORCEMENT Aggrieved employees and former employees can bring cases relating to the alleged breach of an employment statute before their local Employment Tribunal

HR AND EMPLOYMENT LAW Employment law has a major impact on the way that HR managers approach their work

Have we achieved Equal Pay? women.org/module/workplace-issues- past-and-present/gender-pay-gap-and- struggle-equal-pay women.org/module/workplace-issues- past-and-present/gender-pay-gap-and- struggle-equal-pay s/ s/ eid= eid= resources/factsheets/equal-pay.aspx resources/factsheets/equal-pay.aspx