Your employees' statutory rights
Employees are entitled to a wide range of statutory rights.
An employee's statutory rights include the right to:
- equal pay with members of the opposite sex if it can be shown that they are doing work of equal value
- not be discriminated against (including the right not to be dismissed) on the grounds of race, sex, marriage, disability, religion or belief and sexual orientation and on the grounds of age
- not be unfairly dismissed; most employees can complain to an Employment Tribunal within three months of their dismissal, provided they have at least one year of continuous service
- an itemised pay statement
- maternity rights and benefits
- paternity leave
- adoption leave
- parental leave
- time off for dependants
- apply for flexible working
- notice of termination of employment
- not have unlawful deductions from pay
- pay when laid off
- redundancy pay
- a safe system of work
- statutory sick pay (SSP)
- time off including: for public duties; to look for work if declared redundant with at least two years' service; for trade union activities
- trade union membership
- protected employment rights - employees have the right to be transferred automatically, on the same terms without loss of service-related right, from one employer to another when the business is transferred
- written reasons for dismissal on request - providing they have at least one year's service
- a written statement of the main terms of the contract
- be paid at least the level of the National Minimum Wage
- annual leave and working time limits
- protection from being required to work on Sunday
- payment on insolvency of the employer
- be accompanied at disciplinary and grievance hearings
- protection when making disclosures of wrongdoing to their employer.
Most statutory rights apply as soon as an employee begins work; some require specific periods of service to have been worked. For instance, most unfair dismissal claims require that the person has worked for you for one year. Part-time workers must be treated no less favourably than comparable full-timers, and employees on fixed-term contracts must be treated no less favourably than comparable permanent employees.
Consulting your employees
The Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations give employees the right to be consulted on issues that affect them at work. It will be up to employees to ask for consultation arrangements to be introduced; if 10 percent of your workforce request it, you are obliged to set up such a scheme. To help smaller firms adjust to the change, the laws will apply to firms with:
- 150 or more employees from 6 April 2005
- 100 or more employees from 2007
- 50 or more employees from 2008.
You can find more guidance on the regulations on the Department for business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform website (www.berr.gov.uk).
Handling disputes
Changes in the regulations covering dismissal, disciplinary action and grievances in the workplace came into force in October 2004. The new regulations were designed to reduce the number of Employment Tribunal claims by encouraging people to resolve disputes within the workplace.
All employers, no matter how large or small, must put in place procedures for handling disputes. You must provide staff with written information about the procedures. Dismissals will automatically be considered unfair if the disciplinary procedures apply, but are not followed.
- Full details of the grievance must be put in writing and provided to the other party.
- The employer must invite the employee to a meeting to discuss the issue before any action is taken (except when an employee is suspended).
- The employer must inform the employee of their decision, and offer a means to appeal if the employee is not satisfied.
Action point: make sure you have set in place a disciplinary procedure that covers these legal requirements. Further information is available from the Employment Relations Directorate of the Department for business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform website (www.berr.gov.uk).
Disciplinary procedures
Companies often identify two types of unacceptable conduct:
Misconduct - conduct which requires disciplinary action other than dismissal (although if further misconduct takes place it may lead to dismissal). This can include persistent lateness, unauthorised absence and failure to meet known work standards.
Gross misconduct - conduct which may lead to dismissal without notice. This can include working dangerously, stealing, fraud or fighting.
You should include examples in your Staff Handbook to make clear what is meant by each of the terms.No company should take disciplinary action lightly as it can have serious results for both employer and employee. Take a look at the ACAS guide, Producing Disciplinary & Grievance Procedures and their Code of Practice at http://www.acas.org.uk.
Employment tribunals
If you know that an employee intends to complain about you to an employment tribunal, call the ACAS National Helpline 08457 47 47 47 for advice and, possibly, the services of a conciliator. Do this before the employee presents the complaint. The conciliator will contact you both but cannot help you without consent from both you and the employee.
What is the national minimum wage?
The hourly rates that are by law the least you can pay adults or younger workers (18-21, and some trainees). The rates are based on the recommendations of the independent Low Pay Commission and change annually; you can check current levels at www.berr.gov.uk.
Essential tip
For more information, see the ACAS publication, Employing People.
