Every employer has a duty of care to look after their employees as far as possible. The duty of care includes health, safety and welfare of employees while they are at work.
Health and safety at work is mainly governed by law under the Health and Safety Act 1974 which is also referred to HASAW or HSW. Health and safety at work is also governed by various statutory instruments. These are the secondary types of legislation made under specific Acts of Parliament. These can cover a wide range of subjects, from control of asbestos at work, driving, escape and rescue from mines, and working at height.
When someone is offered a job and he accepts that job, he enters into a contract of employment with his employer. The employment contract contains all of the terms which both the employer and the employee are required to observe during the course of the employment, and is legally binding.
In UK employment law there is no legal document that is more sacrosanct then the contract of employment. Anyone who has ever had a job will, or should, have signed an employment contract with their new employer. Under the provisions of UK employment law the employment contract is a legal document that describes the rights and obligations that employee and employer have towards each other.
Employment law is that area of the law which deals with the relations between employer and employer, including employment contracts, working hours, health and safety, participation in trade union activities and collective bargaining, unfair and wrongful dismissal, unlawful discrimination, maternity and paternity rights, redundancy, and transfers of employment.
Employment tribunals can hear claims from anyone who is or has been employed and has a dispute with their employer. Employment tribunals can also hear claims against trade unions if there is a dispute between the union and one or more of its members.
Unfair dismissal can happen when it is felt that an employer has ended employment unfairly. Unfair dismissal can apply when either the reason for employment ending was unfair or the process used by the employer to end employment was unfair.
Employment law can be complex and difficult to grasp. Employment solicitors can help clarify and guide people in the right direction. An employment solicitor can also provide an essential service when it comes to aspects of employment law.
Discrimination happens when you are treated less favourably compared to others. In the workplace this applies to when an employer treats some workers differently to others.
TUPE stands for the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations and is often referred as TUPE. This is a type of employment law. This type of regulation originated from European Union regulations and is applied by UK law.
There are many pieces of legislation in place to protect employee rights. In the past there were no way near as many protections available to employees and they were frequently mistreated without the employers being held liable. In today’s society there are many different angles at which employees can take their employer to tribunal if they are treated unfairly.
ACAS is an acronym which stands for Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service. The role of ACAS is to help employers and employees to improve working relations. The aim of ACAS is to improve organisations and working life because of the improved working relations ACAS have help to implement.
Employment law is probably one of the most complicated and continually changing areas of law, where employment rights and legislation is constantly adapting and trying new methods. As employment law is so vast it is near enough impossible to understand every single area. Current statistics suggest that the most people will at some point in their working lives be affected by an area of employment law.
Legal aid is the term given to funding which the government provides to people on low and intermediate incomes in order to enable them to take advice from a solicitor, and to take court action to enforce their legal rights.
In the employment world there are a vast number of employment rights. The employment rights are contained in employment law which is always changing. As employment rights change it can be hard to keep up with the changes.
Employment tribunals are a relatively recent innovation. Before the mid twentieth-century, employment law did not exist. Legal relations between employers and employees were regulated by the application of the law of contract to the situation.
The purpose of employment tribunals is to hear legal disputes that have taken place in the workplace. Employment tribunals are used when all other means to resolve the dispute have failed. It is seen as a last resort to conclude any disputes that have arisen and the decisions of the employment tribunal are legally binding on the parties involved and must be followed.
Occupational health and safety is concerned with protecting the safety, health and welfare of people in employment or work. The health and safety laws are designed to prevent injuries, illness or being killed at work.
Health and safety law puts a legal responsibility on employers and employees for their actions to prevent harm being caused to others. The main amount of legal responsibility is on employers, who have to ensure no harm comes to people at their workplace.
The health and safety regulations are law that have been passed by Parliament. The regulations are usually implanted by the Health and Safety at Work Act. The proposals for regulations come from the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) and can be proposals based on European Law or proposals that relate specifically to the UK.
As health and safety is a major part in the working environment there are solicitors who specialise in health and safety laws and regulations. Breaches in health and safety can mean criminal prosecutions as well as civil procedings. In a criminal context anyone interviewed under caution and under investigation will have the right to free legal advice from a solicitor.
It was not long ago that employees had no specific employment rights which were enforceable against their employers, save for those rights which were set out in the employment contract, and even these could only be enforced by recourse to a lengthy process of litigation in the ordinary civil courts. Throughout the 20th century, successive governments of both parties have passed legislation which is aimed at giving workers certain minimum statutory safeguards.
Understanding what legal aid is available for an employer or employee of a business is important. The legal aid will give advice on what areas of employment law the individual can claim under, whether or not the claim is likely to be successful and general information on areas that might usually be confusing to individuals trying to grasp employment law without such legal aid.
The field of employment law is fertile ground for anyone looking for a legal job, and there are a wide range of different roles available across a variety of disciplines.
There are a variety of different legal jobs and positions that make up the different areas of employment law. Legal jobs in this area are usually found with employment tribunals as well as the advisory, conciliation and arbitration service or ‘(Acas)’. Due to a rise in employment related legal issues, graduates who are seeking legal jobs specialising as employment solicitors are considered to be in high demand in today’s environment.
A contract of employment is a legal requirement for all employees who wish to legally work for an employer. Although required by law, a contract of employment will not necessarily be given in writing between the two parties, although it will remain a valid contract.
Redundancy is a form of dismissal from employment. Redundancy is relevant when the dismissal concerns reasons that are not related to the individual. This means that the end of employment is because of the employer, whether it means they have about to cease or have ceased business, or whether the type of work is not needed anymore.
The latest research has revealed that more public sector employees are involved in employment tribunal appeals, where 4 out of 10 appeals have concerned public workers. This figure is up around 24% in the last five years.
In English Law there is no right to protection from unfair dismissal in common law. As long as the employer gives the employee appropriate notice, or their reason for dismissal is so severe as to allow him to treat the employment contract as breached and dismiss the employee without notice, he will have acted fairly.
Employment law can be a vast area of law. There is a lot involved in employment law and is usually an area that is relatively unknown, to employees and employers alike.
An employment contract is an agreement made between an employer and employee which will dictate the terms of the employment between the two parties. Anyone who is starting a new job or who is currently working for an employer has the right to an employment contract which will cover all of the terms, conditions and details of their working agreement.
One of the first benefits of health and safety is that they are there to prevent injury, illness and deaths at work. This affects workers and guests or visitors who are at the workplace. Since the implementation of health and safety laws accidents and absences at work have decreased. This means there are fewer people being harmed at work and less time being taken off as a consequence.
Employment tribunals are in place to deal with disputes between employers and employees that have failed to be resolved through any other procedure. If employers and employee disputes get to the employment tribunal it usually means that other attempted methods to resolve the situation have failed and they are now at the employment tribunal as a last resort to settle the dispute.
As employment law is a complex area of many rules and regulations it can be a lot to take in. Without these rules and regulations in place many employees could find that their rights are being abused. Because of the complex nature of employment law, employees are not expected to understand all the areas of law regarding their employment.
Regardless of whether you are an employee, or are an employer, it is highly likely that you will need to consult with an employment solicitor at some point during the course of your life. This may be because you are unsure how a particularly complex piece of employment legislation?
Health and safety planning is something that employers need to consider for their workplace. Health and safety laws impose duties and responsibilities on employers to prevent harm to anyone in their workplace. Any harm that could be caused at work needs to be address and prevented through planning and taking action.
If you have recently left a job due to being sacked and you feel that you were done so unfairly, then you may be entitled to claim for unfair dismissal against your employer. The general areas that need to be considered are whether or not the employer had a good reason for firing you, whether or not the procedure taken by the employer was the correct and fair way of doing so (they didn’t just kick you out the door without explanation) and whether you were dismissed for an automatically unfair reason.