Contracts and Flexible Work Arrangements Flashcards
How has the UK changed in terms of employment law?
40-50 years ago, there were very few employment laws - the government rarely intervened in business matters unless absolutely necessary.
There were only very basic laws prohibiting things like exploitation and child labour.
Nowadays, the UK is one of the most regulated labour markets in the world.
What is governed by the Contract of Employment? What does this contract describe?
The Contract of Employment governs the relationship between the employer and the employee.
It describes the T&C of employment for both parties. Its existence gives several rights and obligations.
What is the trend in employment recently?
Shift away from traditional working week (Mon-Fri, 9-5). More flexible, atypical arrangements as well as self employment and agency working. Also weekend work and 0 hour contracts.
Define EMPLOYER
An employer is the dominant partner in an employment relationship.
Define EMPLOYEES
An employee is someone working under a ‘contract of service’, for an employer. They have wider legal rights than non-employees
Define NON-EMPLOYEES
A non-employee is someone working under a ‘contract for service’. They do not work at the organisation but have been sub-contracted in, perhaps for a specialist project. They are self employed.
What is the format of a contract of employment?
- May be written or verbal. Both are legally binding.
- Comes into existence when an offer of employment is made and accepted
- Different rights depending on whether it is a contract of service or a contract for service.
What are some examples of employment rights (that are applicable to all workers)?
- equal pay for equal work
- basic health and safety rights
- the right to not be discriminated against on the grounds of sex, religion, race, age or disability
- the right to minimum wage (this is increasing in April 2020)
What are some examples of employment rights (that apply only to employees)?
- statutory sick pay
- 9 months maternity leave
- time off for public duties
- minimum notice periods
What sort of things should be included in a contract of employment?
- Name of employee and employer
- The job title
- Rate of pay; period and method of payment
- Arrangements for holidays and holiday pay
- Pension terms and conditions
Define RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS
Restrictive covenants is a clause in a contract which prohibits an employee from competing with his ex-employer for a certain period after the employee has left the business. Also cannot contact the customers of the ex-business
What is the termination of employment?
The amount of notice that is given before termination of a contract by both the employer and the employee
What are the limits for contract termination for employees?
After 1 month, up to 2 years service - 1 week notice
After 2 yrs, up to 3 yrs service - 2 weeks notice
Thereafter a week is added for each years service
Define FLEXIBLE WORK ARRANGEMENTS (FWA)
FWA alter the time and/or place that work is completed in.
What are the different types of FWA?
Shift work, weekend work, fixed term contracts, compressed work week, annualised hours, flextime, homebased work, teleworking, overtime, part time work, job sharing/splitting, temp.casual work.
Define SHIFT WORK
Shift work is working one of a set of consecutive periods into which a 24hr working day is split
Define OVERTIME
Overtime is extra time beyond the employees normal time, added onto a day or shift
Define WEEKEND WORK
Weekend work is working a Saturday or a Sunday
Define PART TIME WORK
Part time work is hours of work defined as part time by employer or legislation
Define JOB SHARING/SPLITTING
Job sharing/splitting is dividing one job between two or more employees
Define TEMP/CASUAL WORK
Temp/casual work is where workers are employed on a temporary basis for a number of hours, weeks or months
Define FIXED TERM CONTRACTS
Fixed term contracts is where workers are employed for a fixed number of months or years
Define a COMPRESSED WORKING WEEK
A compressed working week is where the standard number of hours worked by the employee is compressed into a reduced number of days/shifts
Define HOME BASED WORK
Home based work is where workers whose normal workplace is home but do not have any permanent electronic links to a fixed workplace.
Define TELEWORKING
Teleworking is where workers have permanent electronic links to a fixed workplace
Define ANNUALISED HOURS
Annualised hours is an agreement to work a number of hours annually
Define FLEXITIME
Flexitime is where some hours may be determined by the employee around fixed ‘core time’
What are some examples of companies already incorporating FWA?
KPMG incorporate a compressed working week
Cisco have a 4 day year end shutdown
Why do employees need flexibility?
- reduced stress
- better physical and mental well being
- reduction of negative spillover - poor work relationships do not get taken home to affect home life and relationships
- increased work engagement
- increased productivity
- increased creativeness - good for company
What are the different types of flexibility?
Functional flexibility - Multi skilling, one employee can do several roles and move from department to department
Numerical flexibility - hiring and firing of employees based on business needs
Temporal flexibility - Adjust working hours to meet business needs e.g. peak holidays
Financial flexibility - reduces labour and training costs to protect profitability
What is John Atkinson’s model?
Devised in 1984 - purpose was to allow employees to adjust business demands using FWA. Helps to minimise costs and maximise profits.
What are the groups involved in John Atkinson’s model?
Core workers
- professionals
- core to the organisation
- full time, permanent staff
- provide functional flexibility
Peripheral workers - divided into 2 groups
The 1st group provide numerical flexibility. Less job security and prospective than core workers
The 2nd group are on short term contracts, job sharing, part time workers etc
Other elements include:
Self employed people, subcontracters, agency temps, outsourced work
Draw out John Atkinson’s model
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