Your basic rights at work

There is a legal framework for many aspects of your terms and conditions of employment. This article gives some general guidelines about your statutory rights.

When you start work, you and your employer have to reach an agreement on a range of issues such as:

• your hours
• your pay rate, which must be at least the National Minimum Wage
• your right to time off.

 Not all workers have these statutory rights. Those who may not include:

• the self-employed
• certain categories of employee in the transport or fishing industries
• the armed services
• the police. 

Your statutory rights include the following:

Statement of conditions of employment

A contract of employment is an agreement between an employer and an employee. It is binding on both. It can be:

• written
• oral
• implied
• or a mixture of all three.

Even if you do not have a written contract, your employer must give you a written statement of your terms and conditions of employment within two months of your start date.

It should include the following information:

• pay
• hours
• holidays
• notice period
• sick leave and pay
• pensions and pension schemes
• job title or a brief job description
• your place of work
• the organisation's current grievance, dismissal and disciplinary procedures
• any relevant collective agreements which directly affect your terms and conditions of employment.

If you do not get this written statement, you should speak to your trade union representative and make a formal complaint to your employer.

Detailed pay statement

You are entitled to an individual written pay statement (pay slip), at or before the time you are paid. The statement must show: 

• gross pay (before deductions)
• take-home pay
• amounts and reasons for all deductions such as Income Tax, National Insurance, pension scheme, union subscriptions. 

This itemised pay slip may also show how much you have earned and how much tax you have paid in the current financial year.

All pay deductions must be authorised: 

• in law (such as National Insurance)
• in your contract (such as your pension)
• by your own written consent (such as your union dues). 

Your employer should also supply a P60, an annual statement of the total amount of income tax and National Insurance deducted from your pay.

Hours of work

There are legal limits on the hours you can work:

• You cannot be made to work for more than 48 hours a week, normally averaged out over 17 weeks (There are two exceptions: certain categories of worker in the transport industry; doctors in training, whose working time limit is 56 hours till August 2009, when it becomes 48 hours).
• At present, you can agree to work longer hours by signing an 'opt-out' agreement. Your employer cannot force you to sign an opt-out, and your employer cannot penalise you for refusing to sign an opt-out.
• You can cancel an opt-out agreement as long as you give at least seven days’ notice to their employer.
• If you are a night worker (working, usually, between 11pm and 6am) you should not work more than eight hours daily on average, including overtime where it is part of the normal hours of work. You are entitled to free health assessments.
• If you are a Young Worker (under 18) you may not ordinarily work for more than 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week, and should not work at night at all, except in certain permitted circumstances.
• On-call time is classed as working time if you have to attend your place of work. If, when on-call, you can be away from the workplace and free to pursue leisure activities, on-call time is not working time.

Breaks and time off

• If you have to work more than six hours at a stretch, you are entitled to a rest break (not necessarily paid) of 20 minutes.
• You are entitled to a rest period of 11 hours between each working day.
• You are entitled to one whole day (24 hours) off a week, in addition to paid annual leave. This can be averaged out to two days (48 hours) a fortnight. (Young Workers: two days (48 hours) a week).
• If you are a Young Worker you must have a rest break of 30 minutes after working four and a half hours at a stretch. You are also entitled to a rest period of 12 uninterrupted hours in each 24 hour period you work.

Annual leave and public holidays

• You are entitled to 4.8 weeks’ (24 days) paid annual leave if you work full time (28 days from 1 April 2009).
• If you work part time you get holiday in proportion to the number of days you work - for a 3 day working week, you would get 14.4 days’ annual leave (16.8 from 1 April 2009).
• This may or may not include public holidays.
• You must tell your employer in advance when you plan to take leave, and your employer can insist you take it at a certain time.
• You are not automatically entitled to time off during public holidays, this depends on your contract with your employer.

Required notice

If you are leaving a job you have been in continuously for one month or more, you must give your employer at least one week’s notice. There are some exceptions, for example, employees with fixed-term contracts.

Rights to be represented

There are rules to ensure fair treatment for all workers. They are designed to protect you from being victimised or dismissed. The rules include:

• the right to be accompanied by a colleague or trade union official if attending a grievance or disciplinary hearing
• a procedure for trade union recognition where a majority of the workforce wants it
• a requirement for your employer to consult recognised unions, or other representatives of employees where there is no union, in the event of major redundancies or business transfer.

Rights to be informed or consulted

Employees in businesses which have more than 50 workers have rights which include:

• the right to be informed about their company’s economic situation
• the right to be informed and consulted about employment prospects
• the right to be informed and consulted about decisions likely to lead to substantial changes in work organisation, such as redundancies and transfers.

If you are a migrant worker

• Citizens of countries outside the European Economic Area may need a visa before coming to the UK to work. You UK employer should apply to the Home Office’s UK Border Agency for a work permit.
• If you are from one of the new European Union (accession) member states, you may need to register with the Home Office's Worker Registration Scheme within one month of starting a job.

If you think you are being treated unfairly

You may be able to solve the problem informally:

• talk to your line manager or supervisor; you may be able to settle the matter straight away,
• contact a trade union representative (if you have one) for advice, then, if necessary,
• make a formal complaint through your company’s grievance procedure.

The law says that all employers must have legal minimum procedures for dealing with grievance, dismissal and disciplinary action and that all employees must use these formal procedures to make a complaint.

At present the minimum three stages in any formal grievance procedure are:

1. You must complain in writing to your employer
2. Your employer must arrange a meeting to discuss your grievance.  
3. You have the right to appeal against your employer’s decision.  

If you are still not satisfied, and believe you have a grievance, you may then be able to take your complaint further: to mediation, conciliation, or to an employment tribunal.

For more detailed information on other aspects of employment law, read the following articles: Family friendly employment law, If you are dismissed from your job, Sexual harassment at work, Health and safety at work, Work life balance, and Employment tribunals and arbitration.

Useful contacts:

Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR)
Web: http://www.berr.gov.uk/ 

ACAS (Scotland) (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service)
National Helpline: 08457 47 47 47.
Textphone: 08456 06 16 00   
Web: www.acas.org.uk