Aspects of Employment Covered by Law

What Aspects of Employment are Covered by Law?

If you are experiencing difficulties or have concerns about certain issues at your place of work you may be wondering what aspects of employment are covered by law. Every aspect of employment is covered by the law in order to ensure that employees and their employers are treated fairly and respectfully in the work place.

For example, employment law covers matters of discrimination within the workplace, ensuring that employees cannot be discriminated against due to their race, age, gender, sexual orientation, or any other protected characteristic.

Employment law covers other mechanisms which exist to protect the rights of employees, including rights to a minimum wage and reasonable working hours, and health and safety regulations to ensure that employees do not come to any harm. The law also entitles some employees to redundancy payments when they are made redundant, and allows them to take their employer to an employment tribunal if they have been unfairly dismissed.

However, employment law does protect employers too, allowing them to fire employees if their work is not up to par, or if they commit gross misconduct.

Employment contracts also fall under the umbrella of employment law, and these affect both employers and employees. The employment contract, as with any legal contract, sets out the obligations and rights of each party. An employment contract will set out the employees terms of employment, detailing the responsibilities of the employee's job, how much he or she will be paid, and what rights they will be afforded as part of their contract (vacation time, for example).

Protecting your employment rights

It is important to be aware of your rights on aspects of employment that are covered by the law so that if anything should go wrong at work, you know you have the legal right to seek resolve.

The law on employment in the UK has been evolving in one way or another since people lived and worked within a feudal system. Modern employment law in the UK really began to take shape in the late nineteenth century when a set of employment rights and employment contracts became widespread. Employment law in the UK can be split into two distinct sections: individual labour law and collective labour law.

Individual labour law concerns the basic rights of individuals in the workplace like those set out in the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 while collective labour law concerns the rights that employees to participate in the decision-making process.

Whether you have been unfairly dismissed from your job, discriminated against in the workplace on the grounds of your race or gender, or need some advice on how to draft a watertight employment contract, our expert team can help.

If you fill out the form on the right-hand side of this page, our team will use the details you have provided to match an employment solicitor to the specific requirements and circumstances of you and your case. We have partnered with some of the most highly regarded employment solicitors from law firms that have a proven track record of satisfied clients and successful results.

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