Government legislation allows statutory parental leave to both mothers and fathers, although entitlements are different. Maternity Leave As an ’employee’, you are entitled to 26 weeks of ‘Ordinary Maternity Leave’. Provided you give notification to your employer, you can take this no matter how long you’ve been with the company, how many hours you work […]
Employment Law
European Health and Safety Laws, Probationary Period, Control of
Exposure to Asbestos is the single biggest cause of work-related deaths in the UK, claiming more than 50,000 victims in the last 30 years. The effects can take many years to develop but Asbestos-related illnesses can include conditions as deadly as lung cancer, asbestosis and Mesothelioma. The diseases can extend far beyond the people working […]
A probation period is a trial period of employment. The employee is employed subject to satisfactory completion of this trial period. Why have a probationary period? Employers will often carry out an application and interview process. However you can’t always tell from an interview how an employee will do in a job in practice, or […]
Regardless of whether all your work colleagues are members or not, you have the right not to join as well as join a trade union. The choice is yours and it is unlawful for an employer or employment agency to treat you any differently whatever you decide. The Right to Join a Trade Union If […]
We’re often asked the general question: Is it legal to work alone? It is not against the law to work alone, and in many cases it is perfectly safe to do so (for example a self-employed architect may work by themselves from a home-office). The law does however require employers to ensure that their employees […]
Charities and other not-for-profit organisations often gain significant benefits as a result of taking on voluntary staff and volunteers can be attracted to this kind of work especially as it provides them with the ‘good feeling’ factor of putting something back into the community. Voluntary Staff Volunteers offer their services to the business arena as […]
Corporate manslaughter is a crime that can be committed by a company in relation to a work-related death. This is called corporate homicide in Scotland. The offence was created to rectify the problem identified by a 17th century English judge that “Companies have a soul to damn, but no body to kick”. The Corporate Manslaughter […]
When running a business having your spouse to work for you can have its advantages. Here we look at good and bad points when employing spouse. Pros Employing your spouse can often bring many benefits. There’s the ‘trust’ element of feeling secure in leaving your spouse to work unsupervised knowing that quality or productivity is […]
The term “equal opportunities” is a broadly used phrase which promotes the idea that everyone within an organisation should have an equal chance to apply and be selected for posts, to be trained and/or promoted and to have their employment terminated equally and fairly. There should be no Discrimination on the grounds of sex, homosexuality, […]
In Europe, the facts about safety are startling. Every five seconds theres a work-related accident, causing 210 million working days to be lost each year. Over time, such accidents have also led to 2.3 million people off work with a chronic disability. The European Commission therefore takes a keen interest in all issues related to […]