Legal

Why is Employment Law So Important?

Why is Employment Law So Important

In many ways, employment law is an underrated concept, particularly in terms of its breadth and importance in the workplace.

This is borne out by various datasets, with Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service revealing a 9% and 1% increase in receipts and outstanding caseloads during the final quarter of 2019. This reflects the growing number of people who are aware of their rights under employment law and the avenues available to help them secure these.

We’ll explore this further below, while asking how employment law is so impactful in specific situations.

1. Employment Contracts

Some employers will argue that there’s no legal requirement to provide a written employment contract, and while this is technically true, employees are entitled to a written statement of the mains terms and conditions associated with a particular role.

This is certainly true if their role is scheduled to last one month or more, and the terms of employment must be issued within two calendar months of them starting work.

This should include key datasets including their full pay and timing, accurate hours of work and holiday entitlement, along with an official notice period.

This should also feature basic details such as their employer’s name, full job title and the official start date.

2. Unfair Dismissal

This is an issue that drivers most employment tribunals, even though it’s generally accepted that an employee must have at least two years’ service to bring an unfair dismissal claim.

If an individual has provided more than two years of continuous service, however, it may be possible for them to raise claims such as discrimination and whistleblowing to support a case for unfair dismissal.

You should also note that an employee can take the minimum statutory notice into account when calculating two years’ service, which means that you should always tread carefully when dealing with unfair dismissal claims and ensuring that the fundamental terms of employment are maintained at all times.

3. Cases of Discrimination

As we’ve already said, the issue of discrimination is incredibly pertinent in the case employment tribunals, as it’s prohibited by law for an employer to discriminate directly against a job applicant or employee.

More specifically, there are several protected characteristics that employers must be aware of, including an employee’s age, sexuality, marital status, race, disability or pregnancy.

There are other protected characteristics too, while this list is being added to on a regular basis. This is why a growing number of employers are hiring specialist risk consultants to help identify their core responsibilities and ensure that these are upheld as dictated by law.

You must also protect employees who may be associated with someone who has a protected characteristic, by ensuring that this isn’t complained about or insulted within the workplace.

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