 Must comply with existing race, sex and other discrimination legislation  your name and your employer’s name  your job title or a brief job description  the date when your employment began  your pay rate and when you will be paid  your hours of work  your holiday entitlement  where you will be working to be valid, the contract must contain all these elements

 sick pay arrangements  notice periods  information about disciplinary and grievance procedures  any collective agreements that affect your employment terms or conditions  pensions and pension schemes  if you are not a permanent employee how long your employment is expected to continue, or if you are a fixed term worker the date your employment will end.  you can provide evidence that a breach has occurred

 Minimum Wage £4.50 working week 48 hours max  Equal Pay Act 1970 (and amendment 2003)  Equitable pay with comparator  Equal pay for work of equal value  Objective justification for difference  Health & Safety at Work Act 1974  Duty of care to preserve mental and physical health of workers.  Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974  Discrimination on grounds of criminal record unlawful  Requirement to disclose criminal offences if occupation exempt from Act  Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (and amendments 1986, 2001)  Direct and indirect discrimination definitions  Positive action  Genuine occupational qualifications  Race Relations Act 1976 (and amendment 2000)  Direct and indirect discrimination definitions  Positive action  Genuine occupational qualification

 Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation ) Act 1992  Time off for TU members and officials  Information for collective bargaining purposes  Consultation over redundancies  Right not to be victimised for becoming or not becoming a TU member  Right not to be unfairly dismissed for being a TU member  Closed shop unlawful  Internal union affairs: discipline, secret ballot, members rights  Legal status of collective agreements  Lawful industrial action  Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (and amendment 2003)  Discrimination unlawful  Definition of disability  Reasonable accommodation/adjustments  Asylum & Immigration Act 1996  Duty to check employee's eligibility to work in the UK  Work permit regulations

 Employment Rights Act 1996  Confers rights to:  Statement of employment particulars, pay statement  Protection of wages  Protection from suffering detriment in employment  Time off work for public duties, to look for work and training (in redundancy situations),  ante-natal care, employee reps  Suspension from work on medical and maternity grounds  Maternity rights  Termination of employment: notice periods, written reasons for dismissal  Not be unfairly dismissed and remedies  Redundancy provisions and payments  Human Rights Act 1998  Confers rights to:  a fair trial (natural justice)  Privacy and family life  Freedom of thought, conscience and religion  Freedom of expression  Freedom of assembly and association

 Maternity leave: 52 weeks paid leave ( first 6 weeks 90% of pay then fixed rate -£123.06)  Paternity leave : 2 weeks at fixed rate + possibility to apply for up to 4 weeks unpaid  Sick Leave: SSP ( Statutory Sick Pay) paid for more than 4 days less than 28 weeks sick  Also have the right to request flexi-time

 Redundancy payments- s.155must have worked at least 2 years for employer:  Each year :under 21- 1/2 week’s pay  – 1 week’s pay  week’s pay  (£400 gross)  No if you are over 65 or fairly dismissed  Lost Earnings compensation: s.182 determined if company becomes insolvent

 Paid Time off:  1.for public service ( volunteer in an emergency, jury duty  2. Ante natal and post natal care  3. Training .Protected from detriment (whistleblowing)  If dismissed due to health or safety issue

 1. Was the dismissal for a fair reason ?  And if the dismissal was for a fair reason  2. Was the dismissal dealt with fairly ?  This means that an employer can dismiss an employee for a perfectly valid reason, but the way in which it was handled was unfair and so an Unfair Dismissal claim can be made.  Reasons for Dismissal  1. Capability This is split into several areas.  Qualifications - does the employee have the necessary qualifications for the job and is a particular qualification actually needed for this type of job ?  Incompetence - this can be repeated incompetence or a very serious individual incident, but was the employee trained, were warnings given ?  Health - an employee who is genuinely ill on a regular basis, what was the illness, how long would the employee be off, did the employer consider alternative work for the employee ?

 2. Conduct Theft  Corruption, including taking bribes  Being drunk at work  Taking drugs at work  Abusive behaviour  Leaking confidential documents or information  Hacking into computer files, this includes stealing passwords  Being absent from work on a regular basis  Constantly late for work  Unsuitable work clothes or appearance  Taking holidays without informing your employer  Unsuitable conduct with other members of staff during office hours  Unsuitable conduct outside work hours that has an impact on the employee's job  Even telling your employer exactly what you think of them  All of the above may be persistent behaviour for which an employee has received earlier warnings or they may be individual incidents that are of a serious nature.

 The tribunal will also consider the following:  a) Was the conduct of the employee looked into thoroughly ?  b) Did the employer believe that the employee committed the offence ? The employer does not need absolute proof in a case of dishonesty, but there must be strong evidence of the dishonesty for them to dismiss the employee.  3. Redundancy The employer must have a fair procedure for selecting who is going to be made redundant. Once the method has been decided upon the employer must stick to it.  An employer cannot select an employee for redundancy if it is based upon one of the Unfair Dismissal Exceptions.  4. Breaking the Law For example a foreign worker whose work permit has expired, to continue to employ them would break the immigration laws. However, the employer should check whether the situation can be made legal before dismissing the employee.  5. Any Other Reason This is very wide and is used to cover virtually every other possible reason. For example, where a business is being reorganised and some employees refuse to reorganise along with it or where they are no longer considered suitable. For example an employee who refused to use computers when they were installed despite training was dismissed, this was said to be a valid reason to dismiss. It can include dismissing an employee because an important client demands it.

 Fairness of Procedure The test here is whether the employer used a fair procedure and was it reasonable for the employer to finally decide to dismiss the employee once the procedure had been carried out.  Any Employment Tribunal would consider some of the following:  1. Was the employee given a fair hearing by the employer ?  2. What evidence was used at the hearing and was it all used ?  3. Did the employee have a representative at the hearing or a Trade Union official ?  4. If there was more than one employee involved were they all treated in the same way ?  5. Had the employee done this before ?  6. Did the employer consider warnings, were these used in the past ?  7. Did the employer consider the overall performance of the employee, for example did the employee previously have a long record of good work and behaviour ?  8. Could the employer have disciplined the employee instead of dismissing them ?  9. Did the employee have an effective right of appeal against the decision ?  10. Was the whole procedure carried out in the same way as previous procedures, if not how did it differ and why ?

 Exceptions to the 1 year continuous employment are where the dismissal is for one of the following reasons:  1. Trade Union activities, carried out at an appropriate time. This is usually out of work hours or during work with the employer's permission. (This does not include strikes or working to rule, which are breaches of your contract).  2. Belonging to a trade union.  3. Refusing to join a trade union.  4. Where selection for redundancy was connected with a trade union issue.  5. Where dismissal is linked with pregnancy and maternity rights.  6. Shop or betting industry workers who object to working on Sundays.  7. Where an employee is dismissed due to Sex, Race, Age or Disability discrimination. An employee should bring a claim for discrimination, not Unfair Dismissal. If successful they are likely to receive more compensation.  8. Dismissal relating to an employee asserting their rights under employment laws.  9. Dismissal of an employee observing health & safety rules.

 10. Where an employee is dismissed for acting as an employee representative or person was a candidate to become an employee representative.  11. Dismissal relating to an employee asserting their rights under the Employment Relations Act 1999, section 10, the right to be accompanied to a disciplinary or grievance hearing.  12. Dismissal related to an employee acting as a pension scheme trustee.  13. Dismissal relating to the Working Time Regulations.  14. Dismissal relating to an employee asserting their rights under the National Minimum Wage Act  15. Dismissal relating to an employee participating in protected industrial action.  16. Dismissal relating to an employee asserting their rights under the Tax Credits Act  17. Dismissal relating to an employee asserting their rights under the Part Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations  18. The selection of an employee for redundancy based upon a reason which would have been automatically unfair if the same reason was used to dismiss the worker.