0207 022 2952 e:info@businesshr Home   Subscribers   Sitemap   A to Z   About us   Contact us   Our newsletters       06 Feb 2012 Login:   Lost your password ? Purchase BasicCare Purchase documents Purchase helpline time Explore subscriber site Company brochures HR in difficult times     Best people practice for people in business Employment rights The following is a summary of the main employee rights which may affect your business and its employees. Right of the employee Qualifying length of service if applicable To work on average no more than 48 hours per week, with minimum rest periods and breaks - Right to protection from being required to work on Sundays - To receive the National Minimum Wage - To receive itemised pay statements - Not to receive unlawful deductions from pay - To receive pay during suspension on medical grounds - To receive equal pay - To receive statutory paid holiday (5.6 weeks) - To receive pay and holiday pay safeguards in cases of employer's insolvency - 52 weeks' Statutory Maternity Leave - Emergency time off (unpaid) to care for a dependant - To receive time off for public duties - To receive time off for duties as an officially recognised trade union representative - To receive time off to perform the duties of a safety representative - To reasonable paid time off to act as occupational pension trustee or employee representative - To receive paid time off to study, if an employee aged 16 or 17 who has not attained a certain standard of education - To reasonable paid time off and training as an employee representative under the Information and Consultation legislation - To a safe system of work (health and safety policy, information and training, first aid facilities and risk assessments) - Not to be discriminated against due to a protected characteristic - If a part-time worker, to be treated no less favourably than comparable full-timers - If on a fixed-term contract, to be treated no less favourably than comparable permanent employees - To be accompanied during formal disciplinary and grievance meetings by a fellow worker or TU rep (this does not include investigatory meetings) - Not to be dismissed for bringing a health and safety complaint - Not to be dismissed for asserting a statutory right - Not to be dismissed for membership (or not) of a trade union - Not to be dismissed for activities as an employee representative, or as a candidate for election, for purposes of statutory consultation over redundancies or business transfers or European Works Councils - Not to be dismissed because of pregnancy or childbirth - Not to be dismissed for refusing to do shop or betting work on Sundays (this does not apply to those employed to work only on Sundays) - Not to be dismissed for being a trustee of an occupational pension scheme and performing, or proposing to perform, any of the trustees' functions - Not to be dismissed for qualifying for working families tax credit or disabled persons tax credit, or seeking to enforce a right to them - Not to be dismissed for taking or seeking to take parental leave or time off for dependents - Not to be dismissed or subjected to a detriment for making disclosures of wrongdoing to the employer ("whistleblowing") - To automatically transfer to a new employer upon business transfer on same terms and conditions with continuous service (with exceptions such as pension) - Not to be dismissed as a direct result of a business transfer - Right to belong (or not to belong) to a trade union; to take time off to take part in trade union activities/duties; not to be excluded or expelled from a trade union other than for a permitted reason; not to be unjustifiably disciplined by a trade union; not to be refused employment or the service of an employment agency because of membership or non-membership of a trade union; not to suffer unauthorised or excessive deductions from trade union subscriptions; not to have political fund deductions made from trade union subscriptions if the member objects to this or has a certificate of exemption - Statutory Sick Pay subject to meeting eligibility criteria Period of notice of termination of employment One week after four weeks' continuous service, increasing after two years to one week for each year of service to a maximum of twelve weeks To receive guarantee payments One month Written Statement of Terms and Conditions of Employment Eight weeks Right to request flexible working Six months Right to request time off (unpaid) to train - provided that the employer has 250 or more employees Six months Statutory Maternity Pay 26 weeks as at 15 weeks before expected date of confinement Statutory Paternity Leave and Additional Statutory Paternity Leave and Pay 26 weeks as at 15 weeks before expected date of confinement Statutory Adoption Leave and Pay 26 weeks as at the week of notification of being matched with the child Not to be unfairly dismissed One year, including statutory notice whether worked or not (however, note that the Coalition Government has announced that this will be extended to two years as from 1 April 2012) Written reasons provided for dismissal One year Parental leave One year Statutory Redundancy Pay Two years as at date statutory notice would expire Time off to look for work in a redundancy situation Two years

The legal content of this site is intended as a guide to the law. Consistent with our policy when giving legal advice on a non-specific basis, We cannot assume legal responsibility for the accuracy of any particular statement. In the case of specific advice it is recommended that professional advice is sought through the helpline.