UK Employment Law: Concepts & Regulations

UK Employment Law: Key Concepts and Regulations

• A bill becomes law by passing through both Houses of Parliament and receiving Royal Assent.
• The primary source of common law is judicial decisions and precedents.
• The Advisory, Conciliation, and Arbitration Service (ACAS) provides pre-claim conciliation services for UK employment tribunals.
• The UK Supreme Court can interpret all laws made by Parliament and decided in the courts.
• The Equality Act 2010 explicitly protects against discrimination based on disability, sexual orientation, and gender reassignment.
• "Indirect discrimination" is unequal treatment without a proportionate and legitimate business reason.
• Positive action allows employers to implement preferential hiring based on sex.
• Both the individual perpetrator and the employer can be held liable for sexual harassment in the workplace under the Equality Act 2010.
• An employer can justify a policy/practice resulting in indirect race discrimination by demonstrating it's necessary for the organisation's effective operation.
• Refusing to promote an employee based on sexual orientation is direct discrimination under UK law.
• An employer can justify direct discrimination on religion/belief if there is a lawful occupational requirement.
• Age discrimination can be justified if the employer proves it's a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.
• Employers must not discriminate and must make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010 to accommodate disabled employees.
• A disability, as defined by the Equality Act 2010, is any physical or mental impairment with substantial and long-term adverse effects on a person's ability to perform daily activities.
• "Reasonable adjustments" involve employers making financially feasible and proportionate adjustments for disability discrimination.
• Asking about a candidate's health status during a UK job interview is generally unlawful, unless discussing reasonable adjustments.
• The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 aims to facilitate the rehabilitation and reintegration of ex-offenders into society.
• Full-time employees are eligible for protection against unfair dismissal.
• "Mutuality of obligation" in employment status tests means an ongoing obligation for work and payment.
• Continuity of employment is maintained during maternity and paternity leave.
• The time limit for submitting an unfair dismissal claim to an employment tribunal is three months.
• Trade union membership is an automatically unfair reason for dismissal.
• "Some other substantial reason" is a potentially fair reason for dismissal under UK unfair dismissal law.
• Warning to the employer is NOT a remedy an employment tribunal may order if it finds that an employee was unfairly dismissed.
• The current maximum compensatory award for unfair dismissal is £115,115.
• Significant underperformance despite reasonable support is the typical threshold for establishing capability dismissals.
• An employer should give a formal warning when considering the dismissal of an employee on grounds of "ordinary misconduct".
• "Gross misconduct" should be defined.

Contractual Changes, Working Time, and Redundancy

• An employer can lawfully change employment terms without consent only if the contract explicitly allows unilateral changes.
• If an employee refuses necessary changes after consultation, the employer should make a better offer to buy out the old contract.
• Implied terms in a contract are terms not expressly stated but assumed based on law or custom.
• The duty of mutual trust and confidence means both the employer and employee must act in good faith.
• Dismissing an employee without the required notice constitutes wrongful dismissal.
• Demoting an employee is most likely to lead to a successful claim of constructive dismissal.
• The maximum average working hours under UK regulations is 48 per week, calculated over a 17-week reference period.
• Time spent on-call but asleep is NOT considered working time.
• Self-employed individuals are not eligible for the National Living Wage.
• An employer can lawfully deduct wages for contributions to a workplace pension scheme.
• The employer is responsible for ensuring that employees receive adequate health and safety training.
• Risk elimination is NOT a step in the risk assessment process.
• An injured employee must prove the injury was caused by the employer's/third party's negligence to succeed in an injury claim.
• Employers have a legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent foreseeable harm to employees' mental health.
• Employers must consult with employees individually before making them redundant.
• Employees aged 22-41 are entitled to one week's pay for each full year of service.
• Employee's religious affiliations should not be considered in redundancy selections.
• A relevant transfer under TUPE involves transferring an economic entity that retains its identity.
• Statutory maternity pay (SMP) is a legal requirement for eligible employees.
• Ordinary Maternity Leave (OML) covers the first 26 weeks, while Additional Maternity Leave (AML) covers the remaining weeks.
• Any employee with caring responsibilities for dependents is eligible for time off for family emergencies.
• As of April 2024, all employees can request flexible working, regardless of parental status.
• UCAS stands for Advisory, Conciliation, and Arbitration Service.
• "Vicarious liability" is liability that arises due to the employer's actions or omissions.
• Post-Brexit, the UK can amend employment laws, but protections must not be undermined by EU-derived laws.
• Employment tribunals hear cases related to unfair dismissal, discrimination, and other employment disputes.
• Asking about a candidate's health status is lawful only when reasonable adjustments need discussion.
• An employment tribunal may order compensation for the affected employee in an equal pay breach case.