By Philip Landau, employment lawyer and partner at Landau Zeffertt Weir Solicitors
Over the next few weeks we will be publishing a series of articles on various aspects of employment law rights. This, the first of the series, will cover contracts of employment and discrimination.
Contracts of Employment
There is no legal requirement for your employer to provide you with a written employment contract. Your employer must, however, provide you with a written statement of employment terms within two months of your start date. This written statement should include details such as remuneration, terms and conditions regarding working hours, holiday pay, sick pay, notice periods etc.
The law implies duties into employment contracts. You as an employee are bound to provide faithful service to your employer, obey reasonable orders and exercise reasonable skill and care. In return, an employer has a duty to provide work and pay wages accordingly, provide a safe system of work and maintain the relationship of trust and confidence which exists between employer and employee.
Collective agreements are relatively rare. They tend to be most used in the public sector, or in industries such as manufacturing where unions are heavily utilised.
If your employer wants to change your contractual terms, they generally will need to do so by mutual agreement.
Discrimination
Discrimination is governed by The Equality Act 2010. This Act prohibits discrimination on the grounds such as age, sex, disability, pregnancy, race and religion. This is not an exhaustive list.
There are two types of discrimination, direct and indirect. Direct discrimination occurs when you are treated less favorably than someone else because of e.g. your sex and indirect discrimination is where a provision or practice is applied across the board which disadvantages e.g. women more than men. There is generally no defence to direct discrimination unless for instance it is an occupational requirement to be male (e.g. for an acting role). When it comes to indirect discrimination, an employer may have a defence that this is a requirement of the business (e.g. there have been cases where women are required to wear skirts to work which have been upheld because there is a reciprocal obligation on men to wear shirts and ties).
Unlike a claim for unfair dismissal (please see below), discrimination does not require a minimum qualifying period of employment. In fact, you can make a discrimination claims even as a prospective candidate. You have 3 months less one day from the alleged discriminatory act complained of to bring a discrimination claim at Tribunal.
Harassment is also unlawful under the Equality Act. This covers situations were an employer engages in conduct which creates an intimidating and degrading atmosphere for you in the workplace.
Click here for further information on discrimination
Philip Landau who is an employment law solicitor and partner at London firm Landau Zeffertt Weir Solicitors is pleased to give CityJobs.com users a free initial consultation on any UK employment matter.
If you have a specific enquiry or require further information in relation to your employment law rights, please email Philip at pl@lzwlaw.co.uk or call him on 020 7357 9494.
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