Employment

Types of employment

Rights and Responsibilities of Employers & Employees

Employer: Person or business that pays employees for their work.
Right: Something you are entitled to receive, eg, rights
Responsibility: Duty or something you should do eg, treat others with respect.

Rights and responsibilities can be classified as follows:

Legal: Set out by national or EU law eg, the right o be treated equally regardless of age, gender, race, etc.

Social: Treatment of workers by employers, e.g. payment of a fair wage.

Environmental: Safe and healthy workplace. The employer must ensure that they do not damage the local environment.

Ethical: Doing what is right, e.g. fair treatment of employees and suppliers engaging in fair trade.

Discrimination in the workplace is illegal as well as being socially and ethically wrong.

RIGHTS OF EMPLOYEES:

Right of Employees:

• Adequate rest breaks
• Holiday pay
• Join a trade union
• Work in a safe and respectful atmosphere, free from danger / bullying / discrimination
• Receive a contract of employment
• Receive at least minimum wage
• Receive a fair day's wage for a fair day's work

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Employment

Types of employment

Industrial Relations The relationship between employers and their employees in the workplace.

Trade Unions An organization that represents workers, protects their rights and negotiates with employers on pay and condition of work.

All employees have the right to join a trade union. Workers join trade unions and pay subscriptions to them because their trade union with:

• Negotiate with employers for better pay and working conditions for their members.
• Represent workers who've disputes with their employers.
• Represent employees at discussions about national pay agreements.

The trade union representative in the workplace is known as a shop steward.

Types of Industrial Action

Official Strike: Employees refuse to work for the employer. The trade union must give the employer one week's notice of the strike action. The strike has to be sanctioned by the union. Ballot papers are sent out and go on the majority.

Work to Rule: Workers do only what is in their job description.

Go-Slow: Workers do their work but at a slower pace.

Overtime bans: Workers refuse to do overtime.

Token stoppage: Workers stop working for a short period of time eg, 3 hours. This disrupts the flow of work on the day it happen.

Legislation Protecting Employees:

1. Protection of young persons (employment) Act 1996
2. Employment Equality Acts 1998 to 2011
3. Unfair dismissals Act 1997-2007
4. Industrial Relations Act 1990
5. Workplace Relations Act 2015

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Employment

Types of employment

Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act 1996: Protects young workers under 18 and prevents young workers engaging in late-night work. 14 year old → Light work outside school term. 15/16 years old → light work can be during school term. Restrictions on number of hours worked. Complete ban on work from 10 pm to 6 am.

An employer of a young person must (see):

• A copy of the employee's birth certificate.
• Obtain a letter of consent from parent / guardian if <16
• Keep records of employee details, eg, dos, hours worked.

Employment Equality Act 1998 to 2011: These laws define discrimination as "the treatment of one person in a less favorable way than another person." Discrimination is outlawed under 9 grounds:

• Age
• Gender
• Race
• Sexual Orientation
• Religion
• Family Status
• Marital Status
• Disability
• Membership of the traveling community

4. Industrial Relations Act 1990

States that employees engaging in industrial action cannot be stopped or sued by the employer for losses suffered as a result of industrial action, provided, the employees held a secret ballot and gave the employer one week's notice of the industrial action.

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Employment

Unfair Dismissals Act 1997-2007:

This law states that employees cannot be dismissed for the following reasons:

• Age
• Becoming Pregnant
• Religious Beliefs
• Political Beliefs
• Race
• Sexual Orientation
• Membership of the traveling community
• Membership of a trade union
• Taking part in an official strike.
• Taking legal proceedings against an employer.

Valid reasons for dismissal

• Incompetence
• Misconduct
• Redundancy
• Not having the necessary qualifications needed.

Workplace Relations Act 2015

Set up → the workplace Relations Commission → an independent statutory body. Its role is to improve workplace relations between employers and employees. Helps resolve disputes by assisting in talks between employers and employees → conciliation. "Makes suggestions".

Labour Court

Any decisions made here are legally binding resolves disputes that are not resolved by the workplace relations commission. Investigates disputes and recommends a solution → arbitration. Court of last resort in industrial relations matter.