Employee rights

Employee rights at work

As an employee, you have a number of rights and responsibilities which it is your duty to know and understand. You can find an outline of this information on this page, and your employer should also be able to advise you on their Healthy And Safety At Work policies.

There are two kind of employment rights:

There are rights given to you by legislation such as the minimum wage.
You may also have some sort of contract with your employer. If you are an employee this will be called your contract of employment. You will normally get this when you start work, but it might be called something different like a staff handbook. Your contract provides you with specific rights that go with your job, such as holiday entitlements. Your employer must honour this contract which can be enforced in court.

The National Minimum Wage

The National Minimum Wage is a legal right which covers almost all workers in the UK including International student, casual employees etc.

It is important to remember that students in higher education on COMPULSORY work placement schemes AS PART OF THEIR COURSE are not entitled to the minimum wage.

If you are aged 18 to 21, you are entitled to a minimum wage of £4.45 an hour, from the 1st October 2007
If you are aged 22 or over, then the minimum wage rises to £5.52 an hour from 1st October 2007

To calculate your minimum wage entitlement you need to use your gross pay. This is the pay you receive before deducting tax and NI Contributions. This should also include any:

Payment you receive as part of an incentice scheme
Payment related to output such as sales commission
Bonus payments you get during that reference period
Tips, gratuities and services charges paid through the payroll

Unfair Treatment

The law protect everyone at work from being discriminated against because of their race, sex or disability. This protection covers pay and conditions, promotion and all treatment of work, including the job interview.

There is no legal protection against discrimination on other grounds such as age or because you are gay or lesbian.

But if you are sacked on these grounds, and you have worked for the same employer for more than a year you might be able to claim unfair dismissal.

Unfair Dismissal

If you lose your job for any of the following reasons you may have a case for unfair dismissal:

You are pregnant
Because of your sex, race or disability
You refuse to undertake dangerous or unsafe activities which posed a threat of physical injury
You tried to join a union
You 'blew the whistle' on wrong doing at work
You asserted your right to be paid the minimum wage or took action against your employer for a breach of employment law

Health & Safety

Health and Safety at work is very important. Many students don't understand their rights and this has led to them working under dangerous conditions. Under health and safety law you have both rights and responsibilities.

Your employer must:

Provide you with adequate employers and public liability insurance cover.
Make sure you are not injured or made ill at work.
Train you to deal with health and safety issues.
Provide an accident book to record work-related injuries.
Inform and consult you or your union representative on all health and safety issues.

Your responsibilities:

A duty to work safely by co-operating with your employer, and following safety guidelines.
A right to refuse to do something dangerous if you feel you are in 'imminent and serious danger'.