1. Employment Law

2. Lesson Objectives Employment Law 2
By the end of this session you will :
Know the different types of employment
Know about apprenticeships
Understand the rules of part-time work
Be able to consider solutions to problems at work and apply them in different scenarios. 2
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3. What are the different types of employment?
Employment Law
What are the different types of employment?
Full-time work
No guaranteed work. You must be available to work whenever your employer asks.
Part-time work
You are usually employed for more than 35 hours a week.
Self-employment
An agency finds work for you. You gain the same employment rights as full-time employees after you have worked 12 weeks.
Zero-hours work
You are employed for fewer hours a week than a full-time employee.
Seasonal work
You are contracted to work only for certain times of the year.
Agency work
You are not an employee – you work for yourself and decide independently how to make money. 3
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4. Employment Law
Part time work quiz
True or False? 4
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5. The Answers False True False Employment Law 5
You can normally work from the age of twelve.
False
You need to be at least 13 years old to work part-time.
Young people can only work at certain times of the day.
If you are under 16 you are not allowed to work before 7 am or after 7 pm. You are also not allowed to work during school hours
True
You are not allowed to work before going to school in the morning.
If you are under 16 you can work for a maximum of one hour before school (providing the local authority allows this).
False 5
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6. The Answers True False False Employment Law 6
You are not allowed to work for more than two hours on a school day.
Even on Fridays!
True
You can work any numbers of hours at the weekend.
Depending on your age, there are restrictions on weekend working hours (e.g. during term times, on Saturdays, 13 to 14 year olds can work a maximum of five hours)
False
You can work any number of hours during the school holidays.
Again, there are different restrictions depending on your age.
False 6
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7. The Answers False True False Employment Law 7
If someone under 16 works, they must have a permit.
It is only necessary in places where the local authority requires it.
False
You can be prevented from working if you are late for school.
The local authority can prevent you from working if you are late for school, or if your school work or health suffers as a result of your job.
True
As a worker under 16, you are entitled to be paid the minimum wage.
Only workers who are above the minimum school leaving age are entitled to receive minimum wage.
False 7
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8. The Answers False True Employment Law 8
The minimum age for babysitting is twelve years of age
There is no law setting out the minimum age for babysitting, but if the babysitter is under 16 then the parents remain legally responsible for the child's safety.
False
Employees can be hired under contracts that do not guarantee work.
Zero-hours contracts, or casual contracts, allow employers to hire staff with no guarantee of work. This means employees work only when they are needed by employers, often at short notice. Their pay depends on how many hours they work.
True 8
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9. What can you do if you have a problem at work?
Employment Law
What can you do if you have a problem at work?
Get ready to consider the following scenarios… 9
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10. What can you do if you have a problem at work? Scenario 1
Employment Law
What can you do if you have a problem at work? Scenario 1
Rahul Alam was a part-time volunteer fire fighter. He enjoyed the work, but he was never promoted by his boss, and his colleagues made racist jokes. He didn’t complain, in case it harmed his chances of becoming a full-time officer.
Eventually, Mr Alam decided that the stress caused by this situation was too much and he resigned as a volunteer. Because of the suffering he had faced Mr Alam also made a claim of racial discrimination against the Fire Services.
Rahul Alam successfully proved his claim and was awarded £20,000 compensation for racial discrimination.
What do you think the outcome was?
Rahul won £2,500.
Rahul won £20,000.
Rahul’s case failed. 10
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11. What can you do if you have a problem at work? Scenario 2
Employment Law
What can you do if you have a problem at work? Scenario 2
Phillip Sharp worked for a company that stores fresh food before it is moved on to be sold in shops. One day at work, he slipped on something and fell.
He said, ‘Earlier in the day, someone had dropped some tomatoes. And the person just kicked them out of the way, instead of picking them up’.
‘I just didn’t see the tomatoes. My leg went from underneath me and I felt as if I was doing the splits. My back and leg were very painful and I had to have two weeks off work’.
Phillip made a personal injury claim.
Phillip Sharp’s employer had failed to make sure that the place in which he worked was safe. He was awarded £2,500 as compensation for his injuries by the county court
What do you think the outcome was?
Philip won £2,500.
Philip won £20,000.
Phillip’s case failed. 11
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12. What can you do if you have a problem at work? Scenario 3
Employment Law
What can you do if you have a problem at work? Scenario 3
Richard Meyer worked for the same firm for 14 years. Two years ago, the company told all staff that they’d have to work seven-day shifts. Almost all the workers agreed, but Mr Meyer asked if he could have Sundays off because it was against his religious beliefs to work on Sundays. The company agreed.
A year later, the company asked its staff to work seven-day shifts again. Mr Meyer again asked to be excused, but the company said this would not be possible. They offered him a different job that didn’t require work on Sundays, but it didn’t pay as much. Mr Meyer turned this down and lost his job.
He made a claim for unfair dismissal to the Employment Tribunal.
The only person not to succeed was Richard Meyer. The tribunal agreed with the company that it had done as much as it could to treat Mr. Meyer fairly and reasonably. Mr Meyer lost his case.
What do you think the outcome was?
Richard won £2,500.
Richard won £20,000.
Richard’s case failed. 12
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13. Who is right? Time to face the judge!
Employment Law
Taking sides
Read through the scenario. What would you do as the employer or employee in this situation?
Your task is to form some arguments to help your character put forward their case to the judge. Use the prompt questions on the character cards to help you
Sentence Starters:
“It’s not fair…”
“It’s illegal…”
“I think it is wrong because…”
“I have a right to…”
Who is right? Time to face the judge! 13
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14. Did you agree with judge? Why/why not?
Employment Law
Employment Tribunal
Each pair now has the chance to present their arguments to the employment tribunal judge.
Did you agree with judge? Why/why not? 14
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15. Plenary Employment Law 15
What surprised you the most from what we’ve discussed today?
What have you most agreed /disagreed with?
What steps would you take if you found yourself in some of the situations we have been looking at or thought you were being taken advantage of at work?
Do you think that it is important that people are aware of their rights when it comes to employment issues? Why? 15
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