Enforcing rights

Q: One of our members has been dismissed after making a complaint that he had not received holiday pay that he was entitled to under the Working Time Regulations. He has only been working for his employer for eight months and is classed as a casual worker. Is any legal remedy available to him?

A: Although an employee does not need a year's service to claim unfair dismissal if he was dismissed for asserting a right under the Working Time Regulations, the right to claim unfair dismissal applies only to employees and not workers.

However, workers have the right (under section 45A of the Employment Rights Act 1996) not to be subjected to any detriment on the grounds that they have refused to forgo a right conferred by the Working Time Regulations.

In the case of employees, a "detriment" does not include dismissal because the remedies are different - an employee would have to bring a claim of unfair dismissal rather than detriment. But this exclusion does not apply to workers, so your member can bring a claim for detriment under this section - the time limit for making the claim is three months from the date of the act complained of (i.e. the dismissal).