Employee Rights 

Clubs and Class Associations that employ staff need to be aware that employees have a wide range of statutory rights, some of which are also available to workers who are not classed as employees.  Every employment right imposes a corresponding duty on the employer.

Rights of the employees and other workers:

Many rights apply from the first day of employment, and in some cases even before a contract comes into being (for example, the right not to be discriminated against in selection for employment).

Right not to be discriminated against:

Anyone working under a contract of employment or a contract to provide services personally has the right:

• not to be discriminated against in recruitment or any other aspect of employment on the basis of racial group (race, colour, ethnic origin, national origin or nationality) unless this is a genuine occupational qualification for the work;
• not to be discriminated against in recruitment or any aspect of employment on the basis of sex, gender reassignment or being married, unless being of a particular sex is a genuine occupational qualification for the work;
• not to be unjustifiably discriminated against in recruitment or any aspect of employment on the basis of disability if the employer has 15 or more employees or others working under a contract [see 25.5];
• when the EU Employment Framework Directive] is implemented in the UK, not to be discriminated against on the basis of religious or other belief, sexual orientation or age, unless such discrimination is explicitly allowed;
• for men and women to receive equal pay for work of equal value;
• not to be dismissed for any reason connected with the worker's racial group, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or being married, and if the employer has 15 or more employees the right not to be dismissed because of disability unless the dismissal is justified.

Unlike most other workers' rights, discrimination legislation extends not only to 'workers' but also to self-employed people.

These rights may in some situations also apply to volunteers. Even if they do not, a good employer will act as if they do.

Under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 all ex-offenders have the right not to disclose spent convictions and not to have them taken into account, except in specific situations where they must be disclosed or taken into account

 Rights related pay:

All employees and workers including casual, freelance and agency workers, have a statutory right:

• if they are at least 18 years old, to be paid no less than the national minimum wage;
• to receive an itemised pay statement;
• not to have unauthorised deductions made from pay.

Employees but not, at the time of writing, other workers have the right:

• in general, to receive statutory sick pay;
• to be a preferential creditor for at least some of the money they are owed if the employer becomes insolvent.

 Trade union rights:

 All employees have a statutory right:

• to belong, to a trade union, to take part in trade union activities, and not to suffer a detriment or be unfairly dismissed because of a trade union membership or activities;
• to seek recognition for a trade union;
• to have reasonable time off, with or without pay, to take part in activities of a union recognised by the employer;
• to take reasonable time off, with pay, to carry out duties as an official of a trade union recognised by the employer;
• not to be dismissed or suffer a detriment for taking part in protected industrial action.

 Health and safety rights:

 Employees, apprentices and trainees have a statutory right:

• to work in a healthy, safe environment;
• not to be victimised or unfairly dismissed because of action taken to prevent or put right health and safety risks.

Virtually all employees and other workers including casual, freelance and agency workers, have the right:

• not to be required to work more than 48 hours per week on average;
• to four weeks paid annual leave;
• not to be required to work more than a maximum number of hours without daily and weekly rest periods;

 Other rights:

All employees have a statutory right:

• to take reasonable time off, with or without pay, for public duties to take reasonable time off, with or without pay, to deal with emergencies relating to dependants;
• to take reasonable time off, with pay, to serve as a trustee of the employer's occupational pension scheme;
• to be paid damages if they are injured or become ill as a result of their employer's negligence or breach of duty;
• not to be penalised for disclosing information about alleged wrong-doing by the employer;
• not to be subject to detriment, dismissed or selected for redundancy because they have claimed a statutory employment right.

Employees and other workers including casual, freelance and agency workers, have a statutory right to be accompanied in hearings under a disciplinary or grievance procedure.

Shop workers have a right not to work on Sundays.

Rights of part-time workers:

 Part-time employees and other part-time workers including casual, freelance and agency workers, have the right not to be treated less favourably than a comparable full-time worker working under the same type of contract (permanent, temporary, fixed-term)

Rights of female employees:

All female employees have the right:

• to paid time off for ante-natal care;
• to 18 weeks ordinary maternity leave, with maintenance of all terms and conditions of employment apart from the right to remuneration;
• if suspended on medical grounds while pregnant or breastfeeding to be offered alternative employment or to be paid during suspension;
• to return to the same job on the same pay and conditions after ordinary maternity leave;
• not to be dismissed or made redundant for reasons connected with pregnancy, and the right to a written statement of reasons for dismissal or redundancy while pregnant or during ordinary or additional maternity leave.
  

Rights of young workers:

Young employees (under age 18) and in some cases other young workers have specific rights:

• some young employees have the right to paid time off for study;
• young employees and other young workers, including casuals and agency workers, have the right to more frequent and/or longer rest breaks and rest periods and to at least one two-week break from employment during school holidays;
• young employees, trainees and apprentices have the right to increased protection under health and safety legislation.

Rights requiring continuous service:

Some statutory rights are available only to employees who have completed a minimum period of continuous service or continuous employment with the same or an associated employer.

There is no longer any requirement to work a minimum number of hours per week. These rights therefore become available after the qualifying period even to employees who work a very low number of hours per week, and to employees on zero-hours contracts even if the employer provides no work.

One month:

A qualifying period of one calendar month applies to employees' right to:

• a written statement of employment particulars;
• pay during medical suspension;
• if on wages, a guarantee payment for days when contracted to work but no work is available;
• the statutory notice of termination of employment.

13 weeks:

At the time of writing employees and other workers had the right after 13 weeks employment to four weeks paid annual leave. The government announced in June 2001 that the 13-week requirement would be removed.

Employees on fixed-term contracts do not have a right to statutory sick pay until they have completed 13 weeks continuous service.

26 weeks:

Women have the right to 18 weeks statutory maternity pay (SUMP) if they have worked for at least 26 weeks up to and including the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth.

One year:

Employees have the right, after a qualifying period of one year:

• to parental leave, which may be paid or unpaid;
• not to be dismissed without good reason;
• to claim unfair dismissal if dismissed without good reason or without a fair procedure;
• to receive a written statement of reasons for dismissal within 14 days of asking for it, if dismissed or if a fixed-term or temporary contract expires without being renewed;
• an employee may have specific rights if an employer, in trying to avoid the employee reaching the one-year mark, dismisses without going through a proper dismissal procedure or without giving the required notice;
• women employees who have worked for at least one year up to the 11th week before the expected week of childbirth have the right to:
  • additional maternity leave extending the maternity leave period to 29 weeks after the birth, with some (but not all) contractual rights continuing during this longer period.

Two years:

Employees have the right, after two years continuous service, to:

• the right to a statutory redundancy payment, and to take time off to look for work if being made redundant,

 Determining continuous service:

The determination of continuity is subject to complex regulations. Continuity might arise:

• from one continuous contract;
• from a series of continuous contracts with the same or an associated employer without any break of more than one week between contracts; or
• under provisions governing transfer of undertakings;
• the period of continuity starts on the first day of the contract, which may in fact be prior to the first day on which the employee arrives for work.

Breaks in employment:

Normally, if an employee ceases to be employed for a week or more and is then rehired by the same employer, this breaks the continuous employment and there is no continuity with the previous employment. But there are a number of exceptions, including:

• when an employee whose contract was terminated while he or she was away due to sickness, injury, pregnancy or childbirth is re-engaged within 26 weeks of the contract being terminated;
• when work ceases temporarily;
• absence from work which by arrangement or custom does not break continuity, such as a sabbatical;
• during some breaks in a contract continuity is not broken, but the date of commencement of continuous employment is brought forward by the number of days involved in the absence:
• if the reason for the work ceasing temporarily is a strike or lockout (but if the employee is dismissed during a strike and then rehired, this does break the continuity of employment);
• absence on military service.
• continuity is not broken if the employee is dismissed but subsequently re-employed as a result of an internal appeal, intervention by ACAS (see or a successful unfair dismissal claim).

 Continuity for redundancy purposes:

Two groups of employees may have a separate date of commencement of employment for redundancy purposes only. These are:

• employees who started work with the employer before their 18th birthday, who for redundancy purposes are deemed to have commenced work on their 18th birthday;
• employees who have been employed overseas, whose date of commencement may be postponed by that period.

 Change of employer:

Employment with a new employer is continuous if:

• all or part of the previous employer's work is transferred to or taken over by the new employer;
• the new employer is associated with the previous employer, for example is a company in the same group;
• in an unincorporated organisation, there is a change in the governing body members or other persons who are technically the employer.

 Rights and duties dependent on number of workers:

Certain employment rights (and employer duties) apply only if the employer has a minimum number of employees or, in some cases, a minimum number of employees and workers together. As an organisation grows, it must be aware of its additional duties.

As soon as there are five employees, the employer must:

• have a written health and safety policy and a written health and safety risk assessment (all other health and safety requirements apply even if there is only one employee);
• offer access to stakeholder pensions, unless other appropriate pension provision is offered.

A woman returning from additional maternity leave must be given her old job or a comparable job if there are six or more employees at the time other return from leave If there are fewer than six employees, failure to allow return to work may not be unfair dismissal.

The employment provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 apply if the employer has 15 or more employees or other workers such as casual, freelance, agency or self-employed workers.

An employer with 20 or more employees must have written disciplinary and grievance procedures.

An employer with 21 or more employees must in some situations formally recognise a trade union.

At the time of writing legislation had been proposed requiring employers with more than 50 employees in total or 20 on one site to consult workforce representatives on some issues.

If you require further assistance please do not hesitate to contact the Legal Team Tel:  0844 5569519  Email: legal@rya.org.uk.