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Employment Protection Rights

The topics on this page represent the most FAQ's that we receive from clients. The information here is only a basic summary and is not intended to be an authoritative statement of the law. Moreover no responsibility will be taken for any mistakes that occur as a result of someone acting on this information.

On This Page

1.  List of Main Employment Protection Rights.
2.  Employment Status and Employment Protection Rights.
3.  Right to Receive Details of Main Terms and Conditions of Employment.
4.  Right to 4 Weeks Statutory Annual Holiday With Pay.
5.  Right to Notice of Termination of Employment.
6.  Redundancy Consultation and Selection.
7.  Right to receive Statutory Redundancy Payment.
8.  Disciplinary Procedures.
9.  Potential Lawful Reasons for Dismissal.
10. Right not to be Unfairly Dismissed.
11. Constructive Dismissal.
12. Right to Receive a Written Statement of Reasons for Dismissal.
13. Miscellaneous.

  1. List of Main Employment Protection Rights:
  • The right to receive a Written Statement Of The Main Terms And Conditions Of Employment.
  • The right to receive Payment For Work Done At Not Less Than The National Minimum Wage.
  • The right to Equal Pay for doing like or similar work.
  • The right to receive an Itemised Pay Statement
  • The right to receive 4 Weeks Paid Annual Holidays.
  • The right to an In Work Rest Period (Meal Break).
  • The right to receive a Daily Rest Periods.
  • The right to receive a Weekly Rest Period.
  • The right Not To Be Compelled To Work More Than An Average Of 48 Hours Per Week Calculated Over A 17 Week Period.
  • The right to Paid Time-Off For Ante Natal Care.
  • The right to Maternity Pay And Maternity Leave.
  • The right to Paid Time Off To Carry Out Trade Union Duties.
  • The right to (unpaid) Time-Off To Engage In Trade Union Activities.
  • The right to (unpaid) Time-Off For Public Duties.
  • The right to Paid Time-Off For Health And Safety Training.
  • The right to Paid Time-Off To Look For Work Or Arrange Training When Under Notice Of Termination For Reasons Of Redundancy.
  • The right to Belong Or Not To Belong To A Trade Union.
  • The right to Act As An Employee Representative In Redundancy And Transfer Of Undertaking Consultations.
  • The right to Guarantee Payments when the employee is laid off because the employer cannot provide them with work.
  • The right to receive Statutory Sick Pay.
  • The right to Three Months Parental Leave (unpaid).
  • The right to Paid Time-Off To Deal With Domestic Emergencies.
  • The right to be Accompanied At Disciplinary And Grievance Hearings By A Trade Union Official Of Choice.
  • The right Not To Be Victimised, Harassed Or Discriminated Against On The Grounds Of Race, Gender Or Sexual Orientation.
  • The right to a Safe System Of Work And To A Safe Working Environment.
  • The right to be Consulted About A Proposed Redundancy.
  • The right to receive a Statutory Redundancy Payment when dismissed for reasons of redundancy.
  • The right to receive Notice Of Termination Of Employment.
  • The right to be Warned Of Any Shortcomings Prior To Dismissal (except for gross misconduct).
  • The right Not To Be Unfairly Dismissed.
  • The right Not To Be Dismissed For Asserting a Statutory Right.
  • The right Not To Be Dismissed For Making a Public Interest Disclosure.
  • The right to receive a Written Statement Of The Reasons For Dismissal.

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  1. Employment Status and Employment Protection Rights
  • The extent to which the employment protection rights in 1 above will apply to a person will depend on their employment status.
  • For example, an employee will have full protection.
  • An employee is someone who works under a contract of employment.
  • On the other hand, the self employed and other categories of workers (i.e. casual staff) get only limited protection. 
  • For example, they are protected against acts of discrimination but not against standard unfair dismissal.
  • Determining a persons employment status can be extremely difficult but sometimes this has to be done before a their employment protection rights can be properly defined.

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  1. Right to Receive Written Details of Terms and Conditions of Employment
  • An employee must be issued with written terms and conditions of employment during their first 8 weeks of employment.
  • The written details are officially called a Statement of Particulars.
  • This Statement can be incorporated into a Contract of Employment.
  • The details that must be included in the Statement are specified in the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA) and cover about 19 headings.
  • Minimum terms of employment are prescribed by law and will be automatically incorporated into the Statement if the employer fails to provide a Statement or offers terms that are less favourable.
  • There is nothing to stop an employer from offering more generous terms that those stipulated by statute.
  • If there are no terms available under a particular heading, then this must be stated.
  • It is essential to consult the Statement/Contract of Employment when asked to confirm the benefits and entitlements of an employee.

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  1. Right to Four Weeks Statutory Annual Holidays
  • Workers are entitled to four weeks of statutory annual holidays with pay.
  • Employees automatically qualify.
  • Some workers also qualify provided they personally carry out the work for the employer, are not genuinely self-employed and/or in business on his/her own account.
  • A worker may not be paid money in lieu of the holiday and the holiday cannot be carried over to another holiday year unless the contract says otherwise.
  • The entitlement is to four weeks and if the contract does not define what a week is, then it is 4 X the number of days normally worked in the week.
  • The holiday year should also be defined by the contract, but if there is doubt, then it runs from the date that the worker started with the company.
  • Also if a contract does not stipulate the pay arrangements, then the regulations say that payment must be based on the average pay earned over the previous 12 weeks.
  • The contract should also state what the accrual arrangements are, but in the absence of this the rules are that one twelfth of the annual entitlement is accrued on the 1st of each month of service.
  • On leaving the company the worker must be paid in lieu for any holidays accrued but not taken in the holiday year.
  • If this in lieu payment is not made, then the worker may apply to an Employment Tribunal within three months of leaving to claim the payment.
  • An employee on long term sick leave is entitled to take statutory paid annual holidays.

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  1. Right to Notice of Termination of Employment
  1. Except in cases of gross misconduct, an employee is entitled to receive notice of termination of employment.
  2. Notice of termination must be reasonable in relation to the status and length of service of the employee.
  3. The contract of employment must give details of the notice entitlements, but in the absence of contractual terms there are minimum notice periods stipulated by statute.
  4. The minimum notice periods are: after 4 weeks continuous employment but less than 2 years = 1 weeks notice; for every completed year of continuous service thereafter up to 12 years service = one additional week of notice (up to the maximum of 12 weeks notice for 12 weeks continuous service); thereafter = 12 weeks notice.
  5. An employer may terminate the employment without notice if the contract gives him that right to do so.
  6. However this raised the complex question of who is accountable for tax and other statutory deductions from any termination payments that are made, and the answer will turn on the actual wording of the contract.

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  1. Redundancy Consultation and Selection
  • An employer who is contemplating redundancies MUST consult with employees before making any decisions.
  • There is a legal definition of redundancy, and the circumstances of a redundancy dismissal must fit the definition.
  • There are also legal rules to be followed when engaging in consultation(s).
  • There are two levels of consultation to be considered, namely collective consultation and individual consultation.
  • The Rules on how the different types of consultation are conducted are complicated and depend on a number of factors, such as the numbers of employees involved, the time period over which the redundancies are likely to take place, whether a trade union is recognised, etc.
  • It is also very important that those who are selected for redundancy are chosen carefully using a fair and objective selection criteria.
  • Failure to consult properly can result in the employer facing a stiff financial penalty (of up to 3 months wages for each employee) and may also make a dismissal unfair, resulting in additional compensation being awarded (maximum £52,200).
  • Allegations that the circumstances of the dismissal did not constitute a redundancy, and/or that the selection was unfair, and/or that the consultations were flawed, etc., can be made to an Employment Tribunal to support a claim for unfair dismissal.

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  1. Right to A Statutory Redundancy Payment
  • An employee who is made redundant and who has a minimum of two years continuous service, is entitled to receive a statutory redundancy payment from his employer.
  • The amount of the redundancy payment varies with service and age.
  • Basically the employee gets one weeks wages for each year of completed service between the ages of 22 and 41; between the age of 41 and 64 the payment equates to 1.5 weeks wages for each year.
  • Different rules apply for those aged between 18 and 22 and those over 64 years of age.
  • There is a maximum value on a weeks pay for statutory redundancy purposes. This currently stands at £250. Moreover not more than 20 years service can be taken into account when determining entitlement to a statutory redundancy payment.
  • Many employers operate a voluntary top up payment to the statutory scheme.
  • An employee who had been denied a redundancy payment may make a complaint to an Employment Tribunal.
  • The employee must register the complaint within  6 months from the date of dismissal.  

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  1. Disciplinary Procedures
  1. The ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures recommends that no employee should be dismissed until they have been put through a fair disciplinary procedure, with the possible exception of dismissal for gross misconduct.
  2. A worker who is subjected to the disciplinary or grievance procedures has a legal right to be accompanied by a work colleague or trade union official of his/her own choice.
  3. The Code provides for verbal and written warnings.
  4. Failure to observe these recommendations can render a dismissal unfair.
  5. Every company should have a set of Company Rules and Disciplinary Procedures drawn up to conform to the ACAS Code, and these should be notified in writing to each employee at the start of their employment.
  6. The Employment Bill 2001 will make it a legal requirement, from March 2003, for every company to incorporate a basic disciplinary procedure into their Statement of Particulars/Contract of Employment. There will be stiff financial penalties for any company that does not comply.

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  1. Potential Lawful Reasons for Dismissal
  1. There are 5 potential fair reasons for dismissal set down by statute.
  2. These are: Conduct; Redundancy; Lack of capability or skill; Legal impediment; Some other substantial reason.
  3. If a company cannot rely on one of these reasons then there is possibly something seriously wrong.
  4. Moreover each reason has its own particular procedure and an employer, as well as stating a legal reason for a dismissal, must also be able to demonstrate that they adopted the correct procedure when arriving at the decision to dismiss.

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  1. Right Not to be Unfairly Dismissed
  1. Every employee has the right not to be unfairly dismissed.
  2. Normally there is a qualifying period of one years continuous service before an employee can make a claim.
  3. However this qualification period does not apply to some claims, such as sex, race, disability discrimination, sexual harassment, dismissal connected with health and safety issues, etc.
  4. Please note too that the self employed and other workers are also protected against discrimination, as above.
  5. Normally a complaint of unfair dismissal must be made to an Employment Tribunal within three months of the effective date of termination.
  6. But in certain circumstances the Tribunal has discretion to extend the period.

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  1. Constructive Dismissal
  1. This is where the employer behaves so unreasonably towards the employee that their actions constitutes a fundamental breach of the contract of employment, entitling the employee to resign (with or without giving notice) and claim unfair dismissal.
  2. In law this will be a dismissal by the employer and the same general rules apply.

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  1. Right to Receive A Written Statement of the Reasons For Dismissal
  1. An employee with one year of continuous service may request an employer to provide them with a written Statement on the reasons for their dismissal.
  2. The Statement must be issued within 14 days and be sufficient to enable the employee to get legal advice as to their rights.
  3. The Statement is admissible at an Employment Tribunal.
  4. Failure to supply a Statement or to give misleading information can result in compensation of up to two weeks wages being awarded to the employee.
  5. An employee dismissed while on maternity leave must be automatically issued with a written Statement; they do not have to make a request for it to be provided; it is for the employer to issue at the point of dismissal.

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  1. Miscellaneous
  • A contract of employment has the same status as any other contract and consequently changing the terms without the consent of the employee is not to be recommended, as it could result in a resignation and a constructive dismissal claim.
  • The maximum compensation for standard unfair dismissal is £52,200.
  • Compensation for sexual harassment, discrimination, etc., is unlimited.
  • It is automatically unfair dismissal to dismiss an employee for pursuing a legal right.
  • It will almost always be unfair to dismiss an employee without putting them through a disciplinary procedure and allowing them to have a companion with them at a disciplinary hearing and giving them an opportunity to state their case.
  • A Redundancy is a dismissal.

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Contact Us

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