Chapter 49- employer/employee relations: employment law Flashcards
1
Q
Why does the government fund ACAS?
A
- Going to court to settle a dispute between an employee and an employer creates a winner and a loser
- doesn’t make for harmonious employer-employee relations once the case is concluded
2
Q
What is essential for a business to keep up with?
A
- any new legislation and changes to existing laws if they want good relationships with employees and to avoid prosecution
3
Q
What 3 sections can employment law be divided into?
A
- Laws relating to the recruitment process
- Laws relating to employees in the workplace
- Laws relating to the termination of employment
(Common legal theme is the prevention of discrimination)
4
Q
When does discrimination occur?
A
- when an employer treats a person less favourably than another employee without any justification
5
Q
Why was the equality act of 2010 an important milestone in the discrimination process?
A
- it replaced all the previous anti-discrimination laws with a single act
- making the law easier to understand and apply
- equality act protects people at work from discrimination and its principles appear to the wider society as well
- act sets out ways in which it is unlawful to treat someone
6
Q
It is against the law to discriminate against anyone because of:
A
- age
- being married or in a civil partnership
- being pregnant or having a child
- disability
- each, colour, ethnic, national origin
- religion
- sex
- sexual orientation
7
Q
The act protects employees in a wide variety of circumstances, for example:
A
- recruitment
- promotion
- employment terms and conditions
- pay and benefits
- training
- redundancy
8
Q
What does the equality act 2010 also apply?
A
- access to facilities and services
9
Q
Implications of the equality act for a business regarding access to facilities and services are as follows:
A
- there needs to be a clear policy on how services are to be provided to disabled people
- policy needs to be clearly communicated to all staff
- not a ‘one-off’ but a continuing duty on a business
10
Q
Laws relating to employees at work
A
- a contract of employment is an agreement between a business and an employee, under of which each of them has certain obligations
ACAS states that: - as soon as someone accepts a job, a contract comes into existence
- starting work proves that the employee has accepted the terms and conditions offered
11
Q
Implied terms of a contract
A
- duties on employers to pay wages
- take reasonable care of employees
- in return employees must work properly and obey lawful and reasonable instructions
12
Q
Written statement of employment
A
Most employees are legally entitled to this
Sets out the main aspects of a persons employment
E.g.
- hours of work (including overtime or shift work)
- pay
- sickness entitlement
- pension scheme details
- period of notice required
13
Q
What does the existence of a contract and the written document of employment mean that both the business and the employee are clear about?
A
Their rights and responsibilities
14
Q
The health and safety at work act
A
- the right to a healthy and safe working environment
- an employees health, safety and welfare are protected by law
- 1974 act was a very important piece of legislation which has since been amended and extended to take account of new issues and hazards
- since 1993 all employers have been required to make estimates of workplace health and safety risks and to take the steps to manage and minimise them
- criminal law lays down minimum safety requirements
- positive obligation to create a safe and healthy working environment
- breaches of the law can lead to criminal prosecution as well as civil proceedings for compensation
15
Q
The provisions of this act relate to:
A
- the place of work
- the system of work
- the working environment
- any machinery used
- the use and storage of substances
- employees
16
Q
The implications are that a business must:
A
- ensure that the building is safe: entry and exit
- co ordinate the whole system of work so that it is safe
- ensure that the temperature in the working environment is within certain limits; the atmosphere must be safe to breathe, the floors must be safe to walk on
- fit guards onto machinery to prevent accidents; employees must be provided with the correct safety equipment (and clothing) and trained to use it
- provide training in any hazards associated with work
- have a written safety policy which states who is responsible for safety issues; must be clearly communicated to employees
17
Q
The HSWA also places a duty on employees to comply with the legal provisions regarding health and safety. All employees must:
A
- take reasonable care of their own health and safety and of others who could be affected by their actions
- comply with lawful instructions relating to safety matters
- not interfere or misuse anything provided for health and safety purposes
18
Q
What are the two other organisations that operate in conjunction with the law?
A
- Health and safety commission (HSC)
- Health and safety executive (HSE)
19
Q
Health and safety commission (HSC)
A
- Organisation responsible for health and safety in UK is HSC
- HSC’s role is to protect peoples health and safety by ensuring that risk in the workplace is properly controlled, to conduct research, promote training and provide an information service on health and safety issues
20
Q
Health and safety executive (HSE)
A
- HSE and the local government are the enforcing authorities that work in support of the commission
- HSE is responsible to the HSC for the regulation of risks to health and safety in organisations such as nuclear installations, factories, farms, hospitals and schools, gas and oil installations and the movement of dangerous goods and substances
- local authorities are responsible to HSC for enforcement in offices, shops and other parts of the services sector
- if employees issue is not resolved with manager, HSE can be contacted for advice on the law
- HSE has the power to ensure that the law is complied with and if a breach of act is serious enough the HSE can close a business down
21
Q
Equal pay and equality polices
A
- 2010 equality act reasserted that women and men are entitled to be paid equal amounts for work of equal value
- same reasoning applies to provision of any benefits such as private health care or a company car
- ACAS strongly suggest that all businesses have an equality policy to ensure fair and consistent treatment of all employees
- managers should ensure that all employees are aware of this policy and its implications
- employees should know about the businesses procedures and whom to approach if they think they are not being treated in accordance with the policy
- ACAS stresses that the policy needs to be reviewed and monitored constantly
22
Q
Equality policy
A
A policy to ensure fair and consistent treatment of all employees so that they are not discriminated against, bullied or harassed on the grounds of sex, race, sexual orientation
- managers should ensure that all employees are aware of this policy and its implications
23
Q
The minimum wage act 1999
A
- this act lays down the minimum level of pay to which employees ages 18 years and over in the UK are entitled
- doesn’t matter if employee is in part time or full time employment
- if employees are paid on a piece rate (certain amount for each team produced) the business has to ensure that the system of work enables enough iteams to be made for the employee to earn at least the minimum wage
- ensures a level playing field
- minimum wage is increased every year
24
Q
Maternity/paternity provision: the work and families act 2006
A
- this act enshrined the right to paternity leave in law
- act also introduced rights to paid leave for parents adopting children and the rights for parents of young children to apply to work flexibly
- these rights aim to give parents greater opportunities to balance work and family life
- in 2015, employees became legally entitled to new maternity and paternity rights- ‘shared parental leave’
- objective is to encourage firms recruiting women of child bearing age
- fathers will also get the new right to attend up to two antenatal appointments
- parents will also be able to share 12 months of leave after the birth of a child
- a couple will have to give their employers an indication of how they intend to share their leave 8 weeks before it starts
- employers will benefit from a more motivated workforce as a result
- likely to cause administrative issues for a firm that will want to plan ahead
25
Q
The data protection act 1984 (updated 1988 and 2003)
A
- any business will need to keep all sorts of employment related records on its employees but its not allowed to disclose this information to other individuals within the business or another organisation
- act is designed to prevent harm resulting from the misuse of any data that is held
- the act tries to balance the need for a business to process essential information with the individuals right to privacy
- act was updates in 1988 and again in 2003
- law now covers all systems of data storage whether paper based or electronic
- also now applies to any data on the businesses customers
- all users of personal data must register with the data protection registrar
- a business making this registration must detail the nature of the data and the purpose for which it is held as well as a list of the parties to whom the data may be available to
26
Q
It is a criminal offence to hold unregistered data and breaches of the following principles can also lead to prosecution
A
- data must only be kept for the specified purposes
- individuals are entitled to reasonable access to any data relating to them
- data can only be passed to a third party with the consent of the individual concerned
27
Q
There are several implications of this act for a business
A
- there is a clear legal obligation to protect the security of any data on an employee
- important that safeguards are in place
- training implications on the management and security of data and therefore a cost implication of this
28
Q
Social media
A
- action of employees in social medi has received attention
- employees need to be aware that any of their actions could result in legal action against the business for defamation
- there needs to be a clear policy in place in relation to how employees conduct themselves in the social media
29
Q
Whistle blowing
A
- if an employee has evidence or believes that malpractice in an organisation is occurring they can bring it to the attention of someone in authority
E.g. - someone’s health and safety is in danger
- damage to the environment
- Criminal offence
- company is not obeying the law
30
Q
Grievances
A
- exists when an employee has a concern, complaint or problem
- may relate to their terms and conditions, discrimination, bullying or the relationship with a colleague or a manager
- always best dealt at an early stage
- by law all employers must have a written grievance procedure to be followed formally if the grievance can’t be resolved informally
- employees should be made aware of this
31
Q
The procedure should indicate
A
- whom to contact in the first instance
- statement that if the matter can’t be resolved informally there will be a meeting called a formal grievance hearing
- how the employee can appeal against a decision
- time limits for each stage of the procedure
32
Q
European Union (EU) laws
A
- the EU’s social charter is a charter of rights for employees concerning areas such as working conditions, wages and consultation of the workforce
2 types of eu law
1. Regulations: these must be adopted and applied in a certain way
2. Directives: these must also be applied as law but it is up to the individual member country to decide how to implement them
33
Q
Working time directive
A
- states that a business must not allow an employee to work more than 48 hours per week on average
34
Q
Redundancy
A
- arises from a situation where the job that used to be performed no longer exists and so the employee is surplus to requirements
- might arise because a particular job is mechanised or where its closed down
- employees who are made redundant are entitled by law to a redundancy payment which varies according to how long they have worked for the business s
35
Q
Unfair dismissal
A
Where an employee is dismissed without a valid reason or the employer fails to follow the proper procedures
36
Q
Dismissal
A
- the one most commonly brought before an employment tribunal is unfair dismissal
- employees who have been employed for a minimum of one year have the right to not be unfairly dismissed
37
Q
On the spot dismissal is only fair in two instances
A
- gross misconduct e.g. an employee physically assaulting a customer
- gross negligence (a reckless or wilful disregard for the safety of others)
38
Q
Other types of dismissal that can be justices as fair are:
A
- repeated poor conduct such as lateness or failing to comply with reasonable requests from a manager
- incapacity
- capability- repeated inability to do the work required
- redundancy
39
Q
For any disciplinary related dismissal what should the employer feel
A
- ACAS guidelines
- failure to follow ACAS guidelines doesn’t mean dismissal was wrong but it will weaken the employers case at the tribunal
40
Q
The guidelines state that there are certain stages to be followed if the dismissal is to be fair and legal
A
- manager should give at least one verbal warning to an employee
- should be followed by at least one written warning
- then there should be a final written warning
41
Q
Wrongful dismissal
A
- occurs when there’s been a breach of the employment contract
42
Q
Constructive dismissal
A
- happens when the behaviour of a manager forces an employee to leave the job
43
Q
Employment tribunals
A
- alleged breaches of employment law are heard in an employment tribunal
- a tribunal is a special sort of court which deals with employees claims for matters such as unfair dismissal, discrimination or victimisation by their employer
- less formal than a criminal court
- almost all hearings are open to the public
- ACAS will work impartially with both sides to try to settle the issue
- known as early conciliation
- if the tribunal rules in favour of the employee it will order the business to make a payment to the employe to compensate for what has occurred
44
Q
Rights of part time employees
A
- now have the same statutory employment rights as other employees
- until 1999 part time employees had to work for 3 years continuously for the same business before they were entitled to nay employment protection as opposed to full time employees who only had to work for 12 months
- many that part time staff were easier to discriminate against in matters such as pay, holiday entitlement and redundancy rights
45
Q
The changes to the law were effective:
A
- a union must now ensure that all members can vote in secret if it wants to call a strike
- ‘sympathetic’ strikes and sympathetic picketing are against the law
- picketing is legal but must be peaceful
