Contractual Right and Responsibilities

1 | Page Contractual Right and Responsibilities Nowadays there are a lot of rights and responsibilities for employer as well as employee at every work place. Rights at work depend on statutory rights written by law and contract of employment in between an employer and an employee. The contract of employment can differ slightly within the businesses but statutory rights are all similar for everyone. What an employer is responsible for and the legislation that affects that? There are lot of statutory rights from an employer based on laws passed by Parliament. They are:

• to be paid the national minimum wage

• not to have illegal deductions made

• to have paid holidays, at least 28 days a year

• to receive a written contract

• to have itemised pay slips

• to have time off work for trade union duties; if being redundant; for study or training for 16-17 year olds; for antenatal care

• to have paid maternity, paternity and adoption leave

• to ask for flexible working

• to work 48-hour a week, have weekly and daily rest breaks

• no discrimination

• to work till at least 65

• to receive notice of dismissal, as well as written reasons for that; employee can claim compensation if unfairly dismissed

• to claim redundancy pay

• to work part–time and receive the same contractual rights as a full-time worker

Under Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 employers are responsible for health and safety management. It is their duty to protect the health and safety of their employees and other people who can be affected by their business. They should carry out risk assessments at work for identifying any harm at a workplace. Employees should receive a full Health and Safety training before starting any job especially building jobs; they should know how to deal with the risks at work.[1] Contract of Employment The contract of employment is a written or verbal agreement between the employer and the employee. After 2 months of employment every employee should receive a written contract of employment. Contract of Employment must include such elements as:

• Job title - which position you are going to occupy

• Wages - how much money are you going to be paid

• Hours of work – how many hours a week you are going to work

• Sick pay – how much are you going to be paid while being sick

• Holiday entitlement – how many paid days off are you going to have a year

• Pension schemes

• Notice – how many days before you should notify your employer about leaving the job

• Grievance, dismissal and disciplinary procedures[2]

What an employee required to do and the legislation affecting them? The employee required to know all the statutory rights they have and always read through the contract of employment before signing it. Employees are responsible for:

• Carrying out the duties of their position

• Complying with workplace rules, regulations, policies and legislation

• Informing the supervisor or manager of any unlawful or discriminatory behaviour

• Treating clients, co-workers and the public with respect

By law employees are responsible:

1. to create a healthy environment at work which will be free of discrimination

2. to cooperate with and participate in the employer’s attempts in accommodating employee’s needs that are protected by law

3. to cooperate with the employer in accommodating co-workers. For example: if there is an employee with a disability, other employees might be doing the job which disable person cannot perform

4. to follow Health and Safety rules at a work place

5. to co-operate with employers and co-workers

6. or not to have an offensive behaviour at work and outside

There are lots of rights and responsibilities for every person involved in work process. The most important thing is to obey these rules and always to carry out only legal actions which are protected by law.[3] Employment Legislation Working time regulations You have basic rights as a full-time employee. They are:

• you cannot work more than 48 hours a week
• you are entitled to 28 days paid leave per year if you work 5 days a week
• you are permitted to have at least 11 hours rest between working days
• after working 6 hours or work you need to have a 20-minute rest break
• you have the right to either 24 hour free from work period each week or 48 hours each fortnight

National Minimum Wage As of 1 October 2013 national minimum wage is:

1. A£6.31 per hour – 21 years old and more
2. A£5.03 per hour – 18-20 years old
3. A£3.72 per hour – 16-17 years old

Sick Leave and Pay If you are sick and not able to work you only need to inform your employer and to provide proof of illness after 7 days off work sick. Weekly Statutory Sick Pay is A£86.70 for up to 28 weeks. Notice of dismissal The procedure of dismissal is:

1. send you a written statement with the reason to dismiss you
2. hold a meeting with you to discuss the matter
3. hold an appeal meeting with you, if you are not agree with your employer and want to appeal against dismissal
4. if you still disagree with the result of your appeal you can still take your employer to an employment tribunal

The period of notice is:

• one week – if you worked for one month but less than 2 years
• two weeks – if you worked for two whole years
• one extra week for each year of employment

Employment Act 2008 The employer’s duty is to make reasonable adjustments to grievance, disciplinary and other workplace procedures. Disciplinary situations include misconduct and poor performance. Grievances are concerns, problems or complaints that employees can raise with their employers[4]. Equality Act 2010 The Equality Act consists with over 116 separate bits of legislation into one single Act. The nine main bits are:

• the Equal Pay Act 1970
• the Sex Discrimination Act 1975
• the Disability Discrimination Act 1995
• the Race Relations Act 1976
• the Employment Equality Regulations 2003 (Religion and Sexual Orientation)
• the Employment Equality Regulations 2006
• the Employment Equality Regulations 2006 part 2
• the Equality(Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007

Data Protection Act 1998 Any company or professional that wants to store personal data from their clients are under requirements of the Data Protection Act. There are several requirements:

• Information must be processed fairly and lawfully
• Information collected must be processed for limited purposes
• Information collected must be accurate and up to date
• Information collected must be adequate, relevant and not excessive
• Information must be processed according to individual’s rights
• Information must be not held for longer than is necessary
• Information must be kept secure
• Information must not be spread outside the European Economic Area

Working in office Under the legislation there are several rules which have to be followed while working in an office. They are: Working Environment:

• cleanliness – all furniture, furnishings and fittings in the office shall be kept in a clean state
• overcrowding – the room where you work shouldn’t be overcrowded that may lead to injury at a work place
• temperature – effective provision shall be made for maintaining a reasonable temperature in the office
• ventilation – the room should be ventilating frequently
• lighting – there should always sufficient and suitable lighting in the room, whether natural or artificial[5]

Welfare Facilities:

• sanitary conveniences - there should be suitable and sufficient sanitary conveniences for workers use; they should be kept clean all the time
• washing facilities – there should be suitable washing facilities, supply of clean towels and soap, cold and warm water
• supply of drinking water should be sufficient and clean
• rest and eating – there should be suitable rest facilities where workers can eat meals; there should be a canteen or a place where workers can obtain hot food
• changing facilities – there should be changing facilities in areas where special clothing is required(for example: uniforms or special protective clothes)

Workplace Safety:

• maintenance – any equipment or part of the workplace that could bring a risk to the health, safety or welfare of staff should be maintained in a safe condition
• floors, doors, walls and windows – should be in good condition, should be made from safety materials and protected against breakage

While working in the office you will be dealing with lots of different electric devices. Let’s take as an example Display Screen Equipment (DSE). If you regularly use DSE at work you must:

• analyse workstations to assess and reduce risks of injury
• make sure controls are in place
• have a special training obtaining all information required for use of this equipment
• do regular eye and eyesight tests[6]

Jevgenija MalisevskajaCentre number 54354Unit 17, Task 3

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[1] material were taken from https://www.hse.gov.uk/workers/responsibilities.htm [2] materials were taken from https://www.out-law.com/page-455 [3] Materials were taken from https://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/work_e/work_rights_at_work_e/basic_rights_at_work.htm [4] Materials were taken from https://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/work_e/work_rights_at_work_e/basic_rights_at_work.htm [5] Materials were taken from https://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/work_e/work_rights_at_work_e/basic_rights_at_work.htm [6] Materials were taken from https://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/work_e/work_rights_at_work_e/basic_rights_at_work.htm

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