employeelaw.co.uk – what are the key bits of law in

employeelaw.co.uk – what are the key bits of law in the uk for employees?

Employment law within the UK are the laws and legislations which all businesses operating within the UK must abide by, failing to do so can often mean severe consequences. In recent years the importance of meeting these laws has become ever so more important as the amount of people aware of the processes of employment tribunals has increased due to the press and media.
One major element which is crucial for all employees and employers to be aware of, is the national minimum wage (NMW). The rates are different depending on age, for a worker aged 22 or over the rate are 5.80, for 18-21 year olds the rate is 4.83 and for 16-17 year olds the rate is 3.57. These rates are to be increased in October of this year.
As well as being aware of the national minimum wage, another important element is the working time limits. Adult workers cannot be made to work over 48 hours a week and young workers can not work more than eight hours a day or 40 hours a week.
Flexible working has also become a major talking point within recent years and the Government has also launched campaigns encouraging people to maintain a work life balance. Due to this, some people have a statuary right to request flexible working, this is often popular with people who have other responsibilities outside of work such as looking after children or relatives. Employees have a statuary right if they are an employee (not an agency worker), have worked for the company continuously for 26 weeks and if they have not made an application for flexible working under the same rights in the previous 12 months. By law, employers must consider seriously any applications which are made and these can only be rejected on the basis of the impact on business.
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 produces right to disabled people in order to strip away discrimination. It provides rights to disabled people for employment, education, access to good, facilities, services and the use of functions of public bodies. Many cases have been in the media in relation to people being discriminated against due to them being disabled. Recent times have seen positive discrimination come to the front of employment. This means that if in an interview environment two candidates score the exact same score and one the candidates is disabled, by law the disabled candidate must be granted the job. This raises many different views which can be debated on many different levels. Not only does positive discrimination mean a disable candidate must be granted the job in certain circumstances but also means that under employment law, an organisation must make suitable alterations in order to allow a disabled person to complete a job role.