Introduction (679 words)

There are over 70 pieces of employment legislation governing workers’ rights at work, from the right to be paid a minimum wage, to anti-discrimination ...

1. The employment law system (8096 words)

When environmental enforcement officer Mr Colbourne went into work for a return-to-work meeting, he was upset that someone else had taken over his desk, ...

2. Categories of worker (2979 words)

Foreign correspondent Richard Gizbert was offered a transfer to a different job after deciding that he no longer wanted to report from war zones. ...

3. The employment contract (3232 words)

Ms Cairns was an administrative assistant at the same company for seven years. For over half that time she worked through the agency MSX, ...

4. Pay and conditions (878 words)

Mr Sumsion, a standby carpenter for the BBC, was contracted to work on a production for five and a half months. He could be ...

5. Unions and collective organisation (278 words)

Five lecturers in the trade union education department at Manchester College of Art and Technology (MANCAT) were dismissed, allegedly on grounds of redundancy. They ...

6. Discrimination (12362 words)

Miss Nyateka’s manager came into work for a meeting that Nyateka knew nothing about and to which she would normally have been invited. The ...

7. Sick pay and sickness absence (224 words)

The Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, which sets the terms under which employers must pay Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), initially excluded employees ...

8. Working parents and carers (237 words)

Primary school teacher Mrs Blundell was teaching a reception class before she went on maternity leave. On her return, she was assigned a year ...

9. Industrial action (248 words)

The Viking Line shipping company tried to re-flag the ferry Rosella so it could replace its Finnish crew with a much cheaper Estonian crew ...

10. Dismissal (11084 words)

Mr Smith was appointed managing director of a firm in St Helens, on the condition that he relocate within nine months. The time limit ...

11. Redundancy (2081 words)

Mr Evans and Mr Laidlaw worked for the Home Office as immigration officers at Waterloo International Terminal (WIT). Home Office staff are not covered ...

12. Business transfers and contracting out (1532 words)

A street lighting firm lost its contract to two separate companies, which did not take on all of its staff. Some who were not ...