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10. Rights And Responsibilities Of Community EmployersIntroduction As an employer you will find that there exists a wealth of legislative provisions and requirements with which you must comply, from the initial recruitment stages of your employee through to their departure. Many of these legal requirements are governed by the European Union but each Member State has the responsibility of enacting legislation to comply with these European directives. Therefore the legislative details of rights and responsibilities of employers differ from country to country within each Member State. Accompanying every right is a responsibility. In this section we shall outline the key areas of Employer Responsibilities and Employee Rights providing links to sources of information within each European country. Complying with legislative requirements should not be viewed as an onerous duty as often they can enhance your company’s productivity; failure to comply, on the other hand, can prove very costly. It is therefore worthwhile to work through this module, follow the links and undertake the assessment exercise at the end to ensure that you fully understand your rights and responsibilities. Contracts of Employment Every employee should have a written statement of the agreed terms and conditions of their employment. This can be contained in the original letter offering employment or within a written contract of employment, which the employee should receive shortly after starting work in their new job. For further information regarding UK employment law click on the following link below: www.dti.gov.uk/er Deductions from Employees pay The law protects individuals from having unauthorised deductions made from their wages, including complete non-payment. Employees are entitled to receive their pay when it is due and are entitled to an itemised breakdown of their pay including any deductions made. The UK employment law requires employers to make some deductions from employees pay, such as Income tax, National Insurance and pension contributions. Employers cannot make other deductions unless it is:
To work out how much money your Government says you must deduct from your employees pay for National Insurance, Income tax and/or Student loan repayment purposes, click on the relevant link below: www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk Disciplinary and Grievance hearings An employer can legally dismiss their employees without notice on the grounds of gross misconduct. However, if an employer is unhappy with an employee´s performance or conduct, the employer should follow a set procedure and discuss the matter with the employee before taking disciplinary action or dismissing them. If an employer does not do this he may be guilty of unfair dismissal. Workers are entitled to be accompanied at certain disciplinary and grievance hearings by a fellow worker or a trade union official of their choice, and can postpone the hearing, within specified limits, if their chosen companion is unavailable at the time the employer proposes. Employees should also have access to a fair hearing when they have a grievance or want to appeal a disciplinary decision, this mechanism is known as a Grievance procedure. To access the relevant information for you click on the appropriate link below: For further information on UK employment law , see ACAS's code of practice Disciplinary and grievance procedures or visit www.acas.org.uk or visit the Labour Relations agency of Northern Ireland at www.lra.org.uk. Employee Sick Leave Many businesses institute their own company sick policies and procedures. This would include requirements regarding how and when employees notify you of their absence and its potential duration. A sickness policy would also cover remuneration and period payable e.g. basic statutory entitlement or company enhanced details. For further information contact regarding Statutory Sick Pay visit: www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk Equal Opportunities Legislation exists which is designed to ensure that the best person for a job, based on merit, should be employed - regardless of factors such as their gender, sex, race, colour, nationality, disability, caring responsibilities, marital status, religion or political opinion. The aim of the legislation is to promote equality of opportunity in the work place and avoid discrimination, be that in the recruitment and selection process, or in relation to selection for promotion. Legislation also exists to ensure that a woman (or man) gets paid the same money for doing similar work as a man (or woman), to ensure that people do not receive unfavourable treatment on the grounds of their gender. There are many benefits to be gained by your business from complying with legislative requirements. Your business will benefit from:
To access information regarding the relevant employment laws click on the relevant link below: In Britain relevant legislation includes: the Sex Discrimination Act and the Disability Discrimination Act, additional legislation applies in Northern Ireland such as Equal Opportunities and Fair Employment Legislation. Advice and information can be obtained from the following sources:
Health and Safety / Industrial Accidents and Injuries Employers have a duty to ensure that employees and those visiting their premises are safe. As a guide, employers should have a Health and Safety policy, Insurance and provide Health and Safety induction training to new employees. As an employer the Health and Safety regulations you must comply with will vary depending on how many employees you have and what industry you are in. Employers should also have an ¨Accident Record¨ whereby any accidents or injuries involving employees or customers on work premises or during working hours can be recorded. If an employee or customer is injured and that injury is as a result of your negligence or unsafe premises, they may be entitled to compensation. Keeping this record protects the employer too and an employer cannot refuse to let an employee record an accident or injury in the accident book. Visit: www.hsedirect.com Hours of Work / Holiday Entitlement Employees are protected by legislation from being forced to work excessive hours, which would have a detrimental effect on their Health and Safety and their work — life balance. Employees cannot be forced to work more than a set number of hours per week, although they can choose to work longer hours.
Legislation also exists regarding flexible working, time off for dependants and emergencies etc. For additional information on the UK employment law for any of these issues visit: www.dti.gov.uk/er/work_time_regs/index.htm Maternity / Paternity / Adoptive Rights Maternity Rights Employees have the right not to be discriminated against on the grounds of pregnancy or maternity. An employer may not dismiss an employee or select her for redundancy on grounds related to pregnancy, childbirth or the fact that she has taken or sought to take maternity leave. A woman dismissed in these circumstances may make a complaint of unfair dismissal, regardless of her length of service. All pregnant employees are entitled to time off with pay to keep appointments for antenatal care made on the advice of a registered medical practitioner, midwife or health visitor. Antenatal care may include relaxation classes and parent-craft classes. An employee is entitled to be paid during their Maternity leave, for details on their entitlement click on the relevant link: The Inland Revenue provides more information for employers in the booklet Statutory Maternity Pay Manual for Employers (CA29), available from its Employer's Orderline on 0845 7 646 646 and from the Inland Revenue website. (Ian this should link to www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk) You can also visit: www.dti.gov.uk/er/maternity.htm Parental Leave Male employees are entitled to unpaid paternity leave. Employees who are adopting a baby are also entitled to leave. Employees remain employed while on parental leave and some terms of their contract, such as contractual notice and redundancy terms, still apply. At the end of parental leave they have the right to return to the same job as before or, if that is not practicable, a similar job which has the same or better status, terms and conditions as the old job; where leave is taken for a period of 4 weeks or less, the employee is entitled to go back to the same job. Wherever possible, employers and employees should make their own agreement about how parental leave will work in a particular workplace. Such agreements can improve upon the key elements set out above but they may not offer less. For further information visit: www.dti.gov.uk/er/workingparents.htm Pay Entitlement The European Member States introduced Minimum Wage legislation to guarantee employees a minimum hourly rate and decent standard of living. This is of benefit to employers too as it means they must compete on the basis of quality and not cheap prices subsidised by poor rates of pay. The minimum hourly rate an employee is entitled to depends on their age; see below: Minimum Wage Rates: Over 22 = £4.20; 18-21 = £3.80. Further information regarding terms, conditions and exceptions is available at: www.dti.gov.uk/er/nmw/index.htm Redundancy / Dismissal / 'Notice' Redundancy Redundancy usually occurs due to one of two reasons:
For further information on UK employment law for these issues visit: www.dti.gov.uk/er/individual.htm The right to ¨Notice¨ Employers have a right to ¨notice¨ if an employee intends to leave their employment. The amount of this notice will depend on the contractual terms and conditions, if this is not stated, common law terms are applicable. In the same way, employees are entitled to ¨notice¨ from their employer when they intend to terminate their employment and make the employee redundant. As an alternative to making the employee work their notice, employers can give them pay in lieu of notice. For information on the right to notice and dismissal, visit: www.dti.gov.uk/er/individual/reasons-pl707.htm Sexual Harassment / Victimisation/ Bullying/ Discrimination Not only does an employer have a legal duty not to discriminate against his employees, he must also protect his employees from suffering at the hands of other employees. For information on employers´ responsibilities in these areas visit:
Trade Union Membership and Collective Bargaining Employees can, if they choose to, join a Trade Union. The law protects employees from being discriminated against because they are, or are not, Union members. Employers cannot make an employee join, or remain a member of, a Union. For further information visit: www.dti.gov.uk/er/union.htm or www.tuc.org.uk Other Useful links and publications: Employer´s Handbook — The Labour Relations Agency, in partnership with Invest Northern Ireland, the Equality Commission and the Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland, has produced ´The Employers´ Handbook — Guide to Employment Law & Good Practice´. The Handbook has been published by Invest Northern Ireland and is available to view via: www.lra.org.uk
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