Introduction (1371 words)

One of the major changes to employment law in 2002 will be the passing of the Employment Act 2002, including changes to tribunal applications, ...

1. The employment law system (2886 words)

In the UK there are two systems of law. Statutory law is the law enacted by Parliament. Statutory law provides the framework for most ...

2. Categories of worker (3234 words)

An individual's status, that is whether they are an "employee" or a "worker", is very important in establishing their statutory rights. An "employee" is ...

3. Starting work and the employment contract (6058 words)

Most employers require a reference before they will employ someone. Young workers starting work for the first time are likely to come with references ...

4. Rights to pay and conditions (5818 words)

Under the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 UK workers have the right to a minimum wage, currently set at £4.10 an hour for those ...

5. Union organisation (4026 words)

To gain access to many of the rights covered in this chapter the union needs to be recognised by the employer. The law now ...

6. Discrimination (6898 words)

The law currently prohibits discrimination on the following specific grounds only: sex, race and nationality, disability and transsexuality. ...

7. Sick pay and sickness absence (1920 words)

Anyone off work on account of sickness should normally receive, as a minimum, statutory sick pay (SSP) of £63.25 (2002/03) for those earning at ...

8. Maternity and parental leave (2517 words)

Employers have a general duty to protect the health and welfare of pregnant workers. This includes carrying out a risk assessment of any working ...

9. Industrial action (5493 words)

The law relating to industrial action covers not just strikes but lockouts, overtime bans (even where overtime is voluntary), go slows, working to rule, ...

10. Dismissal (8833 words)

Every year thousands of people pursue unfair dismissal claims. It is the largest single category of claims coming before tribunals. Rights to pursue dismissal ...

11. Redundancy (5134 words)

An employee is dismissed for redundancy and may be entitled to redundancy pay if either of the following occurs: ...

12. Business transfers and contracting out (4180 words)

If a company is bought out by another (except where the change occurs through a share transfer), or if a service is privatised or ...

Publications and further information (435 words)

Throughout the booklet references have been made to the relevant statutes. Copies of these can be obtained directly from The Stationery Office and from ...