modern employment relationship

Question 1

what are the 3 categories in the MER?

Answer 1

• employee (have the most amount of rights in employment law)
• worker (dont get all rights that employees do. have right to min. wage, holiday pay, pension contributions & discrimination protection)
• self-employed (very little rights beyond basic safety & discrimination)

Question 2

how do we determine which category to fall into for the MER?

Answer 2

• personal performance
• element of control
• integration of workplace
• “own business” (own equipment, have clients?)
• “mutuality of obligation” (when employer has legal duty to provide work & employee has to do work)

Question 3

what are the five employee duties?

Answer 3

• use reasonable care & skill
• exercise reasonable care towards fellow workers / public
• obey all reasonable orders
• observe good faith (confidentiality, conflict of interest, director duties)
• observe trade union laws (notice of strike, secret ballot, work related dispute, peaceful picketing)

Question 4

what are the three employer duties?

Answer 4

• provide written particulars within 2mths (job title, description, pay, hours etc)
• no obligation to provide work but must pay if you do do work (min wage, within reasonable time, equal pay)
• obligation to show respect (equality act 2010. prohibits discrimination. expected to make reasonable adjustments)

Question 5

what does reasonable adjustments mean?

Answer 5

adjustments employers are expected to provide to consider the protected characteristics, particularly disability. eg. blind lecturer requesting to have all seminars in same room to make job more accessible.

Question 6

what is vicarious liability?

Answer 6

when employer is responsible for wrongs done by employees in the course of their employment

Question 7

how is an employee classified in vicarious liability?

Answer 7

depends upon element of control and independent contractors

Question 8

what is the justification for placing blame on employers for an employees actions?

Answer 8

• should employ better people
• should supervise them better
• should have liability insurance (civil liability contribution act 1978)

Question 9

what is required for an employer to be held responsible for vicarious liability?

Answer 9

need “ordinary course of employment”

Question 10

what is “ordinary course of employment” in vicarious liability?

Answer 10

needs close connection between the employment and the illegal act. the authorised act is done in an unauthorised way

Question 11

what is an example of when an employer was found not vicariously liable?

Answer 11

Iqbal v London Transport :
- was a ticket checker
- drove bus instead
- had no close connection between act & employment
- employer not guilty of vicarious liability

Question 12

what is an example of when an employer was found vicariously liable?

Answer 12

Mohamud v Morrisons :
- employee who was meant to be interacting with customers
- chose to assault customer
- supreme court found morrisons vicariously liable
- sufficient close connection as he done no wrong. abided by job description by interacting with customers

Question 13

what is a “frolic of your own”?

Answer 13

• no close connection between employment & act
• employees own fault & claimant cannot get compensation from employer

Question 14

what does the computer misuse act 1990 cover?

Answer 14

• unauthorised access to computer material
• unauthorised access with intent to commit or facilitate another offence
• act intended to impair operation of a computer
• unauthorised acts causing or creating serious risk of damage to food/ communication/ health system
• make / supply / obtain any article for use in those offences

Question 15

what are the two acts related to whistleblowing?

Answer 15

• public interest disclosure act 1998 (PIDA)
• enterprise and regulatory reform act 2013 (ERRA)

Question 16

what are workers protected from in whistleblowing?

Answer 16

• dismissal
• detriment by employers & co workers (treatment which is demeaning)