Employment Practice

Key points An 'approved' code of practice is a document (approved, in most instances, by Parliament) that contains practical guidance on the law. In the context of employment law, a code of practice interprets the duties and responsibilities of employers and the rights of employees under this or that statute and/or its associated regulations and orders. Legal status of a code of practice A failure on the part of any person (employer, trade union official, or employee) to observe any provision of an approved Code of Practice does not of itself render him (or her) liable to proceedings before a court or tribunal. But in such proceedings, that failure is admissible in evidence and, if any provision of the code appears to the court or tribunal to be relevant to any question arising in the proceedings, it shall be taken into account in deciding that question. In other words, the codes of practice referred to in this section have much the same status as has the Hi...

Key points Meaning of 'closed shop' In simple terms, a closed shop (or union membership agreement) is an understanding or agreement between an employer and one or more trade unions whereby the employer agrees not to employ (or to continue to employ) any person who is not a member of one or other of the trade unions party to that agreement. Protection of job applicants and existing employees Nowadays, the closed shop is a legal irrelevancy. It can no longer be used as an excuse for denying a person a job or for dismissing (or disciplining) a person who refuses to be or remain a member of a trade union (even if the union in question is recognised by the employer as having bargaining rights in respect of a particular class or group of employees). Furthermore, an employer cannot lawfully demand a payment from a non-union employee (or presume to make a deduction from that employee's wages or salary) as an alternative to the payment of trade union dues. In sho...

Key points A child is a person who is not over 'compulsory school age'. In England and Wales a child who turns 16 during a school year cannot lawfully leave school until the last Friday in June. A child who turns 16 after that last Friday in June, but before the beginning of the next school year, may likewise lawfully leave school on that last Friday in June. In Scotland, a child who turns 16 during the period from 1 March to 30 September, inclusive, may leave school on 31 May of that same year. Children whose 16th birthdays occur outside that period must remain at school until the first day of the Christmas holidays. These provisions are currently to be found in section 8 of the Education Act 1996, supported by the Education (School Leaving Date) Order 1997, and (for Scotland) in section 31 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980. Given the many restrictions on the employment of school-age children, employers (or would-be employers) who have doubts about the t...

Key points The Central Arbitration Committee (or CAC) is the senior standing arbitration tribunal in Great Britain. A successor to both the Industrial Court (set up in 1919) and the Industrial Arbitration Board (1971), the CAC's constitution and independent status are presently described in sections 259 to 265 of the Trade Union & Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. The CAC comprises a Chairman and one or more deputy chairmen appointed by the Secretary of State (after consultation with ACAS and other persons) and several members experienced in industrial relations also appointed by the Secretary of State. Those other members (apart from the Chairman) must include some persons whose experience is as representatives of employers and some whose experience is as representatives of workers. Members will normally hold office for a maximum of five years. Cases brought before the CAC are normally heard by the Chairman (or one of the deputy chairmen) and two me...

Canteens and Rest Rooms for Employees Key points Whether or not employers are legally-bound to provide their workers with dedicated canteens or rests room will depend in large part on the type of activity or process in which an employer is engaged. Regulation 25(5) of the Workplace (Health, Safety & Welfare) Regulations 1992 - that apply to every workplace - states that 'suitable and sufficient facilities shall be provided for persons at work to eat meals where meals are regularly eaten in the workplace'. By way of explanation, the accompanying Approved Code of Practice points out that 'seats in work areas can be counted as eating facilities provided they are in a sufficiently clean place and there is a suitable surface on which to place food. Eating facilities', it continues, 'should include a facility for preparing or obtaining a hot drink, such as an electric kettle, a vending machine or a canteen'. Furthermore, 'workers who work ...

Key points The following days are bank and public holidays in England and Wales: New Year's Day (1 January) Good Friday Easter Monday the first Monday in May the last Monday in May the last Monday in August Christmas Day (25 December) Boxing Day (26 December) 27 December (if either of Christmas Day or Boxing Day falls on a Sunday) or any days substituted for those days (or added to those days) by government or Crown proclamation (eg, New Year's Eve, 1999). In Scotland, bank and public holidays fall on: New Year's Day (1 January) (or 2 January, if New Year's Day falls on a Sunday) 2 January (or 3 January, if 2 January falls on a Sunday) Good Friday Easter Monday the first Monday in May the last Monday in May the first Monday in August Christmas Day (or 26 December, if Christmas Day falls on a Sunday) 26 December (if it is not a Sunday). And in Northern Ireland: New Year's Day (1 January) St Patrick's Day (17 March) (or 18 Marc...

Key points It is unusual nowadays for an employer to dock an employee's wages or salary because of accidental damage to property or goods. In any event, an employer 's right to do so is strictly regulated by Part II (Protection of Wages ) of the Employment Rights Act 1996. Save for deductions in respect of income tax (PAYE) and National Insurance contributions (and other exceptions), an employer does not have the legal right to deduct money from an employee's wages or salary (or demand any payment) without that employee's express consent. If an employer wishes to deduct monies (or demand a payment from an employee) for bad workmanship: his (or her) right to do so and the reason for making that deduction must be clearly laid down in the employee's contract of employment (a copy of which must have previously been supplied to the employee before the incident that prompted the making of that deduction); alternatively, the employee must have previous...

Key points From time to time, the courts will serve so-called 'attachment of earnings' orders on employers requiring them to make periodical deductions from an employee's weekly or monthly pay cheque and to forward the money to the collecting officer of the court (section 6(1), Attachment of Earnings Act 1971). Similar legislation applies in Scotland and Northern Ireland. An attachment of earnings order may be made: by the High Court, to secure payments under a High Court maintenance order; by a county court, to secure payments under a High Court or a county court maintenance order or the payment of a judgement debt; or payments under an administration order; by a magistrates' court, to secure payments under a magistrates' court maintenance order or the payment of any sum adjudged to be paid by a conviction or the payment of any sum required to be paid by a legal aid contribution order (ibid. section 1). Note, however, that an attachment of e...

Key points The Advisory, Conciliation & Arbitration Service (referred to below as 'ACAS' or 'the Service') is an independent statutory body, first established on 1 January 1976 under section 1 of the (since repealed) Employment Protection Act 1975 and continued by section 247 of the Trade Union & Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. Note ACAS performs its functions (and those of its officers and servants) on behalf of the Crown, 'but not so as to make it subject to directions of any kind from any Minister of the Crown as to the manner in which it is to exercise its functions under any enactment' (ibid. section 247(3)). Constitution of ACAS ACAS is directed by a Council which consists of a Chairman and nine ordinary members appointed by the Secretary of State for Employment. Following consultations with the bodies concerned, three of the ordinary members are appointed from organisations representing employers and three fro...

Key points A job advertisement that indicates (or could be construed as indicating) an intention to discriminate against would-be job applicants on grounds of sex, marital status, gender reassignment, colour, race, nationality or national or ethnic origins, or on grounds of disability, is unlawful by virtue of section 38 of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, section 29 of the Race Relations Act 1976, and section 11 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. Note It is not yet unlawful in the UK for an employer to discriminate against a job applicant (or existing worker) on grounds of age, political conviction, or religion - except in Northern Ireland where discrimination on grounds of religion or political opinion is outlawed by the Fair Employment & Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998. However, the UK Government has three years within which to introduce legislation implementing the EU's Employment Directive 2000/78/EC, which prohibitions discrimination...