1. The impact of employment law at the start of the employment relationship. Employment Relations is defined by David Farnham (2000: xxiii) as “that part of managing people that enables competent managers to balance, within acceptable limits, the interests of employers as buyers of labour services and those of employees as suppliers of labour services in the labour market and workplace”. The impact of employment law at the start of the employment relationship is profound. The main pieces of legislation to be aware of are: The Equality Act 2010: At least 7 different Acts and Regulations were incorporated in this act with regards to sex discrimination, race relations, disability discrimination, equal pay, and employment equality with regards to age, sexual orientation and religion or belief. The Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006.
The Freedom of Information Act 2000.
The Data Protection Act 1998.
The employment relationship is affected by internal and external factors. Internal Factors include:
Organisational Culture – this concentrates on the behaviour and morals of employees within a company. The culture can have a huge effect on the employment relationship. For example, if there is the ethos of flexible working hours and employee involvement, then it stands to reason that the employees will be more likely to agree to any changes in the terms and conditions of their employment. Leaders have the ability to influence and manage organisational culture. When this is done effectively, employees will express those values positively through their behaviour. Leaders can influence organisational culture and hence employee behaviour. Pay and Rewards – pay and rewards attract, motivate and retain staff. The employment contract which, amongst other things lists rewards, whether it is pay, bonus or benefits, can remove animosity amongst employees and employers. However, recent research reveals that employees are no longer motivated by a financial reward alone, but react positively to training and development to enhance their career progression and development. External Factors include:
The Term Paper on Rewarding Employees Behavior Rewards Organization
What gets rewarded gets done Psychological and behavioral explanation The nature of human behavior is, humans do things to satisfy their unmet needs in some way or the other. These needs may vary from the very basic such as hunger to reach the greater heights of life. Whatever it may be, when he realizes that some actions he takes lead to satisfy his needs, he tends to do them in a superior way, ...
Economy – In recent years the economy has experienced a recession. This has impacted businesses in many ways; affecting staff remuneration and other related expenditures. Consequently, there have been salary-cuts, salary freezes, redundancies, and reduction in the workforce.
Legislation – Employment Laws affect employee relations in various ways, imposing rules on working time, national minimum wage, trade union recognition, parental leave, unfair dismissal, and equality of employees. In recent years the default retirement age has been phased out which has resulted in an older retained workforce, meaning that the retention of specialist skills and knowledge of the company will be a positive impact to the employment relationship.
There are three different types of employment status:
Employee: Employees have a written agreement between themselves and their employer (sometimes called terms and conditions) that does not stipulate an end date. By law, employees will receive a written copy of their contract within 8 weeks of the commencement of their employment. Benefits and pay, such as holiday entitlement, usually start on the first day of employment. Additional rights and benefits may be accessed subject to continuous employment, including the right to claim for unfair dismissal and the right to redundancy payments. Employees can include both part-time and full-time staff. The only difference is that part-time staff would receive any pay or reward on a pro-rata basis.
Worker: Workers are paid on invoice and complete work themselves, they can use their own equipment and could be freelance. They are now entitled to similar terms and conditions as those given to employees, but are not covered by all legislation that applies to employees. Self-Employed: A self-employed person is not an employee of the organisation and therefore employment legislation does not generally cover them. However, they are legally entitles to certain rights regarding Health & Safety, fair treatment and breaks. Someone who is self-employed contracts their service; they set their own hours of work and have no right to expect work. They are responsible for their own invoices and PAYE. Their contract is for service, not for time and they are not subject to disciplinary
The Essay on Requires Employers Employer Employee Work
... the employee to perform work, under a contract of service, and the you as the employee agree in return for payment for the work done. Employment ... payroll tax, though depending on how many people the company employs It is a criminal offence under the federal tax law ... there business. Secondly you are paid according to the time you spend at work at an hourly rate rather than by how ...
procedures. The table below shows a synopsis of the difference between the categories:
Employee
Worker
Self Employed
Has a contract of service
Does work personally
Contracts for services – employer is customer
Paid by PAYE
Paid on invoice
Paid on invoice
Not VAT registered
May be VAT registered
Prepares business accounts
Employer sets working hours
Either may set working hours
They set hours of work
Work cannot be declined
Work can be declined
Can assign work to others
Employer can expect work to be done
Employer cannot expect work to be done
Employer has no right to expect work
Is provided with written particulars and terms of employment Contract may not be in writing
Contracts for each piece of work which may be in writing
Subject to disciplinary procedures
Would need to respond to complaints or may be subject to some procedures Must be prepared to respond to complaints but not subject to disciplinary procedures Uses company equipment
May use own equipment
Uses own equipment
Is employed for indefinite time
Usually works for a fixed time
Contract is by service not time
(Martin, Whiting, Jackson, 2010)
It is important for both the organisation and the employee to determine an individual’s employment status as it determines many things. The majority of employment rights in law relate to employees, and include statutory sick pay, redundancy pay and notice periods. If a person is classed as a worker then they are entitled to only certain employment rights such as minimum wage. Whereas a self-employed person has more flexibility with regards to work. It is vitally necessary to ensure that all parties are fully aware of the employment status, so that all parties are clear and know what regulations and laws they are governed by. “Employee status is therefore significant because ’employers’ will be exposed to the majority of employment rights only if the ‘working person’ can prove they are an employee rather than self-employed.” (CIPD, 2013)
The Term Paper on Contemporary Issues in Work and Occupations: Precarious Employment
Employment is of various forms. An employee can work on temporary terms, permanent terms, under contract terms, or under subcontract terms. In temporary employment terms, there are the temporary employment relationships. Contract and subcontract terms of employment are defined under certain rights and responsibilities that are specified under the labor law to govern the agreement terms of the two ...
2. Employee rights during the employee relationship
It is vital that an employee can balance their working life with their personal life. The ACAS booklet (2013) entitled “Flexible working and work-life balance” details that the hours and times that people work has always been subject to change and the pace of this change is more rapid than ever due to customer expecting to have more goods and services available outside traditional working hours. Organisations wanting to match their business needs with the way their employees work and individuals wanting to achieve a better balance between work and home life.
By implementing a positive work/life balance, companies become more successful, secure a good reputation and promote positive employee relations. The Working Time Regulations 1998 stipulates that employers should provide employees with the following basic rights: 28 days paid holiday for full time employees – including the 8 public holidays A rest break if the working day is longer than 6 hours
11 hours rest a day
A limit of an average of 48 hours a week over a 17 week period – employees may opt-out, but cannot be forced to opt out and may not be dismissed for not opting out A limit of an average of 8 hours in 24 hours for night workers The following legislation covers family friendly provisions for family/parent-related legal support: Employment Rights Act 1996
The Essay on Privacy In Work Monitoring Employers Own The Phone
The Privacy of the individual is the most important right. It supports human dignity and other values such as freedom of association and freedom of speech. It has become one of the most important human rights of the modern age. Privacy is recognized around the world in various regions and cultures. Almost every country in the world includes a right of privacy in its constitution. Without privacy, ...
Employment Act 2002
The Flexible Working Regulations 2002 – and subsequent amendments The Work & Families Act 2006
Equality Act 2010 – relating to maternity, paternity and adoption leave and pay ACAS Flexible Working Arbitration Scheme
Other employee rights during the relationship include:
Maternity leave
The employee: must tell the employer about the pregnancy; the expected date of birth and the expected date when their leave will start. They have the right to request alternative work during their pregnancy where there may be risks to themselves or the baby. They are subject to compulsory leave of two weeks (four for factory workers) after giving birth. They are entitled to Ordinary Maternity Leave (OML) of 26 weeks and Additional Maternity Leave (AML) of up to 26 weeks unpaid. They have the right to return to the job in which they were employed or role of equivalent status with protected rights to pay, conditions and benefits. The employer: needs to complete a risk assessment and ensure that reasonable time off is given for ante natal care.
Paternity leave
The employee: must be the baby’s biological father or married to/partner/civil partner of the child’s mother; be expected to be responsible for the baby’s upbringing and have 26 weeks continuous employment by the 15th week before the baby is due. They are expected to inform the employer when they want their leave start date to be; the week that the baby is expected and the duration of the leave (1 week, 2 weeks or 2 separate weeks).
Paternity leave must be taken within 56 days of the birth of the baby. Additional Paternity Leave (APL) can be used, whereby the mother can transfer up to 4 weeks OML and 26 weeks of her AML to the father. They have the right to return to the job in which they were employed or role of equivalent status with protected rights to pay, conditions and benefits.
Adoption leave
To qualify the employee needs to have worked continuously for their current employer for at least 26 weeks before the beginning of the week when they are matched with a child. The following people are entitled to adoption rights:
• Individuals who adopt; or
• One member of a couple where a couple adopt jointly (the couple may choose which partner takes adoption leave).
The Term Paper on Affirmative Action Employee Leave Employer
FMLA/ADA/Affirmative Action What is the meaning of Affirmative Action? An active effort to improve the employment or educational opportunities of members of minority groups and women. In the U. S. , the effort to improve the employment and educational opportunities of women and members of minority groups through preferential treatment in job hiring, college admissions, the awarding of government ...
The employee is entitled to 26 weeks Ordinary Adoption Leave (OAL), followed by 26 weeks Additional Adoption Leave (AAL).
Dependants leave
All staff (regardless of length of service) are entitled to take a reasonable period of unpaid time off work to deal with an unexpected or sudden problem concerning a dependant and to make any necessary longer term arrangements to deal with an unexpected disruption or breakdown in care arrangements for a dependant; to deal with an unexpected incident involving their child during school hours; to take care of a dependant who falls ill or has been involved in an accident or assaulted. A dependant is a spouse, partner, child or parent, or person who lives with the employee but is not a lodger or someone who reasonably relies on the employee for care e.g. an elderly neighbour.
There are several reasons why employees should be treated fairly in relation to pay, and these include: 1. Statutory Rights: The employee is entitled to equality of pay and other terms and conditions with someone of the opposite sex, in a comparable job. 2. Increase staff motivation: by treating employees fairly, companies can reduce the number of tribunal claims being brought against them and increase motivation as employees will feel that they are being looked after by the company, and rewarded for the job that they do. Increased motivation produces: Less turnover, which translates into lower training costs, and better job performance, leading to more profit in the long run.
Under the rules in the UK, everyone should have access to employment and not be discriminated against in terms of their employment. The Equality Act 2010 combines nine different pieces of anti-discrimination legislation into
one single act. It details nine protected characteristics:
1. Age
2. Disability
3. Gender reassignment
4. Marriage and civil partnership
5. Pregnancy and maternity
6. Race
7. Religion or belief
8. Sex
9. Sexual orientation
That relate to the following types of discrimination:
Direct discrimination: where an employee is treated less favourably due to a protected characteristic. Associative discrimination (aspect of direct discrimination): where an employee is treated less favourably because they have an association with someone who has a protected characteristic. Perceptive discrimination (aspect of direct discrimination): where an employee is treated less favourable because it is perceived that they possess a protected characteristic even if they do not in fact do so. Indirect discrimination: when all employees are treated the same, but this treatment particularly disadvantages people who share a protected characteristic. For example: if you say that applicants must be over 180cm tall for a particular job, this could be indirectly discriminatory, as it is likely to end up discriminating against women and some ethnic groups who are usually small-framed.
The Homework on Telecommuting Employees Home Work
Telecommuting Telecommuting starts with the lower level of the working class workers but with the success it has had it's rapidly moving towards the executive level. There are two form of telecommuting the employers use today, one is home telecommuting which is a work arrangement the most people do this is working from home with a computer terminal utilizing today's current technology by ...
It is not direct discrimination against these groups because the rule does not directly say: ‘No women allowed’ or ‘No Vietnamese allowed’. But it has the same effect. If it is possible to show that the job does not need someone 180cm tall or that it could easily be adapted to suit people who aren’t that tall, it would not be reasonable to have that height requirement and it would therefore be indirect discrimination (NSW Government, 2013).
Harassment: is defined by ACAS (2011) as “unwanted conduct related to a protected characteristic, which has the purpose or effect of violating an individual’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that individual”
Third Party Harassment: The Equality Act makes employers potentially liable for harassment of employees by people (third parties) who are not employees of the company, such as client’s or customers. Victimisation: this is where an employee is treated less favourable because they have made or are suspected of making a complaint relating to the Equality Act 2010.
The “psychological contract” has been defined as “the perceptions of the two parties, employer and employee, of what their mutual obligations are towards each other”. These obligations will often be informal and imprecise; they may be inferred from actions or from what has happened in the past, as well as from statements made by the employer, for example during the recruitment process or in performance appraisals (CIPD, 2012).
It represents the mutual beliefs, perceptions and informal obligations between an employer and employee. Not all aspects of the employments relationship are written in a formal contract, the psychological contract is a mutual understanding between the parties involved. For example;
Employees promise to:
Employers promise to:
Work hard
Pay commensurate with performance
Uphold company reputation
Opportunities for training and development
Maintain high levels of attendance and punctuality
Opportunities for promotion
Show loyalty to the organisation
Recognition for innovation or new idea
Work extra hours when required
Feedback on performance
Develop new skills and update old ones
Interesting tasks
Be flexible, for example by taking on a colleague’s work
An attractive benefits package
Be courteous to clients and colleagues
Respectful treatment
Be honest
Reasonable job security
Come up with new ideas
A pleasant and safe working environment
The psychological contract is rarely explicitly discussed. But it’s a powerful motivating force behind behaviour at work. It is best practice to provide a positive psychological contract based on trust and fairness, tied into an organisational culture that delivers positive outcomes linked to performance. Key elements of good practice include job design, skills development, and a climate of regular, consistent consultation and involvement. Organisations might seek to seek employees’ engagement through: fostering leadership and innovation; stressing teamwork as a firm value; providing continuous learning opportunities and access to knowledge; listening and responding to people’s ideas and concerns; developing lifelong relationships with people; ensuring the organisation is an enjoyable place to work.
3. Issues to be addressed at the termination of the employment relationship To be fair, a dismissal must be for one of the following reasons: Capability – skill, aptitude, poor performance, absence or ill health Conduct – employee did not meet employers “reasonable expectations” Legal restriction – it becomes illegal for the employment to continue i.e. cessation of working visa or loss of driving license (if the employees role includes driving) Redundancy – cessation of a business, or part of a business or reduction of work Some other substantial reason
If an employee wants to make a claim for unfair dismissal the employee needs to be able to demonstrate that they were dismissed, and that this dismissal was not fair for a specific reason. There are qualifying periods for unfair dismissal claims as follows; employed pre 6th April 2012 an employee needed 1 year’s continuous service in order to qualify, and post 6th April 2012 an employee needs 2 year’s continuous service in order to qualify. However, there is no “qualifying period” for dismissals relating to: Trade union membership/activities
Pregnancy/childbirth
Taking maternity, adoption, paternity or parental leave
Asserting a statutory right
Claiming the National Minimum Wage
Asserting rights under the Working Time Regulations
Whistleblowing
Discrimination
There must be a fair reason for an employee to be dismissed and in order to achieve this, the employer must take reasonable steps to prove that the dismissal is justified and act accordingly in arriving at the decision to dismiss. An exit interview is a meeting between an employee who is leaving the company and usually the Human Resources department to find out the reasons for leaving. If a regular pattern of complaints emerges, action can be taken to improve the situation. Exit Interviews help to:
1. Clear up psychological issues that otherwise might stay unresolved. They are seen by existing employees as a sign of positive culture and they are part of the psychological contract. 2. Provide valuable information as to how to improve recruitment and induction of new employees and staff retention. 3. Might help to retain a valuable employee who would otherwise have left (organisations often accept resignations far too readily without discussion or testing the firmness of feelings).
4. Improve the chances of successfully obtaining and transferring useful knowledge, contacts, insights, tips and experience, from the departing employee to all those needing to know it, especially successors and replacements.
Redundancy is one of the most traumatic events an employee may experience, but the negative effects can be reduced by sensitive handling of effected employees and those remaining in the company. The key stages that need to be implemented and followed for the redundancy procedure to go smoothly are as follows: Planning: Organisations should always attempt to avoid redundancies. Ways in which this can be done are: natural wastage; recruitment freezes; stopping or reducing overtime; retraining or redeployment; sort time working; pay cuts for time off; promoting sabbatical/career breaks; job share/flexible working; voluntary redundancies. If the redundancy involves more than 20 employees, then the employer has to notify the Department of Business Innovation and Skills. Identifying the selection pool: This is the group of employees from which those selected for redundancy will be taken – normally those who undertake a similar type of work or work in a particular department or location. “If an employer makes redundancies without considering a selection pool correctly, the dismissals will be unfair” (CIPD, 2013).
Seeking volunteers: Offering a voluntary redundancy package and then seeking willing redundancy volunteers may avoid compulsory redundancies altogether. However the longest serving staff may volunteer which has cost and knowledge implications. The organisation can invite people to apply for voluntary redundancy; however the organisation does not have to accept their application. Consulting employees: There are minimum timescales for when collective consultation with trade unions for proposed dismissals due to redundancy should start: dismissal of 100 or more employees = 45 days, dismissal of 20-99 employees = 30 days. The Law requires “meaningful consultation” – not just telling employees what is to happen. At the start of the consultation process the employer is legally obliged to give the following information to the employee: The reason for the redundancies
The number of proposed redundancies
The total number of employees affected
The proposed methods of selection
The procedure that will be followed
The method of calculating redundancy payments
Employers must also consult with individual employees and give them reasonable warning of impending redundancy. Selection: Selection from the pool must be based on objective criteria and must not be based on a protected characteristic. Appeals and dismissals: Iindividuals selected for redundancy should be notified in writing that their position is ‘at risk’ of being made redundant. They should be invited to a meeting to discuss this, which is the first part of the individual consultation. This should be followed by at least one further consultation meeting, depending on what the employee has to say.
Once the individual consultation has been completed a decision has to be made on whether or not the employee’s position is to be made redundant. If they are, then they must be informed in writing and be given an explanation of the redundancy payment that they will receive. It is good practice to allow the employee to appeal against the decision to make their positionredundant. An employee is entitled to be accompanied at all individual consultation meetings by a trade union representative or colleague. It is automatically unfair to select employees for redundancy for a number of reasons, including: trade union membership (or non-membership)
part-time status
pregnancy or maternity-related reasons
a protected characteristic
Employees must be given notice of their redundancy, statutory notice or contractual notice, whichever is greater. Alternative employment: The employer must consider alternative work within the organisation. The Law removes the entitlement to Statutory Redundancy Pay if an employee unreasonably refuses a suitable alternative. An employee is entitled to a four week trial period in the new role – and if there is an agreement that the new role is not working, then the situation reverts back to redundancy. Employees with at least two years’ service are entitled to paid time off work to look for other work. Redundancy payment: The legal minimum for employees with two years’ service or more is: half a week’s pay for each full year you were under 22; 1 week’s pay for each full year you were 22 or older, but under 41; 1 and half week’s pay for each year you were 41 or older. Counselling and support: The process of redundancy is unpleasant and can end up being badly handled. Managers should be trained to handle redundancies with sympathy and clarity.
Employees can be badly affected by redundancy and need support to accept reality and mount an effective job search. A well-designed redundancy programme should enable employees to refresh their interview skills, redraft CVs and reply effectively to job advertisements. Where possible, outplacement advice should be offered to employees leaving the organisation to maintain their morale and help them find alternative employment. There are direct and indirect costs of redundancy that have an impact on the whole organisation. Direct costs include redundancy payments, cost of recruitment and training in the future if the business recovers. Indirect costs include the potential loss of information and knowledge, confidence and demotivation. Indeed there is now evidence that states a company takes at least 2 years to fully recover from a period of redundancy. “Survivors” of the process also experience worries about their former colleagues and about their own futures. In any dismissal the employer must have acted reasonably and fairly, investigated thoroughly, established facts and consulted fully with employees during redundancy.
Bibliography
Abfablife.co.uk (2013), Work/ Life/Business Mentoring [internet], http://abfablife.co.uk/services/work-life-balance (accessed 18/05/13) ACAS, (2011), Bullying and Harassment at work [internet], http://www.acas.org.uk/media/pdf/l/r/Bullying_and_harassment_employer_2010-accessible-version-July-2011.pdf (accessed 26/05/13) ACAS, (2013), Flexible working and work-life balance [internet], http://www.acas.org.uk/media/pdf/4/n/Flexible-working-and-work-life-balance.pdf (accessed 18/05/13) CIPD, (2012), The Psychological Contract [internet], http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/factsheets/psychological-contract.aspx (accessed 20/04/13) CIPD, (2013), ES01: Why is employee status so significant and what legislation covers it? [internet], http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/employment-law-faqs/employee-status-legislation.aspx (accessed 11/05/13) CIPD, (2013), Redundancy [internet], http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/factsheets/redundancy.aspx (accessed 26/05/13) Farnham, D (2000), Employee Relations in Context. London: Institute of Personnel and Development Martin M, Whiting F and Jackson T (2010), Human Resource Practice, Fifth Edition, London: CIPD NSW Government (2013), Module 1: The meaning of merit [internet], http://www.dpc.nsw.gov.au/merit/module_1/direct_and_indirect_discrimination (accessed 25/05/13)