Employment Law - Coursework Example

? Topic: Lecturer: Presentation: Part A Nadia a paralegal officer at Akhtar, Luton is suspecting that she is pregnant and is worried due to her line manager’s attitude toward pregnant women. The line manager has stated clearly that pregnant women are not allowed time to go for antenatal nor are their jobs guaranteed after maternity leave. Despite these threats, Nadia should not be worried since she has employment rights and is protected under the UK employment law. The law guarantees parental rights to employees under the Employment Rights Act 1996.1 These are contained in Part VI dealing with antenatal care, Part VIII dealing with child care and also on laws dealing with unfair dismissal and redundancies. The parental rights grants a pregnant woman regardless of the length of service a right to attend prenatal care during working hours provided the said appointment is under the advise of a medical practitioner, midwife or health visitor.2 The woman should also be able to produce a medical certificate or doctor’s evidence of such appointment so that the employer can inspect. During the time she attends antenatal, she is entitled to be paid for her absence at appropriate hourly rate.3 If such a right is violated she can complain to the employment tribunal within three months of the said appointment. In addition to antenatal care, she is entitled to a maternity leave under Part VIII clause of the employment Act 1996.4 Under the Pregnant Workers Directive, a woman who has worked for 26 weeks is entitled to maternity leave and pay. The Maternity and Parental leave Regulations (MPLR) 1999 grants a woman a compulsory leave of for 2 weeks after which she is entitled to 6 week paid leave at 90% ordinary salary.5 The 6 weeks are followed by 20 weeks leave paid at a rate of ?123.06 per week which is similar to sick pay. In total she is entitled to 26 weeks maternity leave with pay after which she can apply for additional unpaid leave provided she informs the employer in writing 15 weeks before the date of the expected birth.6 The line manager has therefore, no right to refuse Nadia to attend antenatal appointments during working hours and 26 weeks maternity leave. On return, she should go back to her job and if she is dismissed then that amounts to unfair dismissal.7 Though the company is experiencing reduced profits, the proper procedures for declaring workers redundant should be followed otherwise it would be considered as discrimination on the basis of gender which is prohibited under the Equality Act 2010.8 The case of Simpson v Endsleigh Insurance Services Ltd although not ruled in favour of Simpson shows that under regulation 10 of MPLR 1999, a woman who becomes redundant during maternity leave is entitled to be offered alternative vacancy in the organisation or with an associated employer.9 Endsleigh closed down branches and Simpson was invited to apply for a vacancy in a new place while she was on leave but she declined. EAT held that she was not dismissed unfairly. What is more, Nadia has the right to request for flexible working time under section 80f of the Employment Act 1996.10 This is to enable her to take care of the child. One can be declared redundant if the employer ceases to operate the business or the skills required to carry out duties are obsolete thus no longer required for the business. If Gemma cannot provide justification for declaring Nadia redundant when she returns, then it is unwarranted and discriminatory. There should also have been consultations with trade unions and worker councils before decisions for redundancies are achieved and the right procedures followed to select those to go but not based on personal reasons such as pregnancy.11 If redundancy is genuine, she is entitled to redundancy pay since she has worked for the company for three years. This also depends on her age. For age 21-40 redundancy pay is calculated as 1 week’s pay for each year worked and those above 40yrs get 11/2 week pay for each complete year.12 However, she should have an employee status in order to enjoy those rights. Part B Stewart is a paralegal at Akhtar working full-time for five days a week, 8hrs a day. He is also a single parent of a 7yr old boy who recently got a broken arm as a result of an accident and needs to undergo physiotherapy every Monday afternoon. Will his father be allowed to accompany him to physiotherapy sessions? Employees have a right to request for flexible time working under section 80f of Employment Act 1996 provided they fulfil certain conditions: 13 One must have been an employee and in continuous service for 26 weeks before making request and be the parent or guardian of the child. The child to be taken care of must be 16 years or under, or 18yrs if disabled. One must have or expects to have responsibility for child’s upbringing thus the arrangement requested for must be to enable him to care for the child having made no such requests in a period of 12 months preceding this request. Stewart has fulfilled all these requirements and therefore is entitled to request for flexible time working. He therefore has to decide the kind of arrangement he wants although the employer may decline his request only if it affects other workers, costs are involved, or has detrimental consequences.14The options available to him are to change hours of work, place of work, or patterns of work such that he has a compressed week. The Working Time Regulations 1998 in accordance with the European Working Time Directive 93/104/EC of 1993 allow for 48-hrs week but does not stipulate how the hours may be spread.15 Since Stewart works for 8 hrs a day for five days he can still make adjustments to his working schedule. He may work from 8am to 5pm from Tuesday-Friday and from 8am to 12pm on Monday so that he can go for therapy in the afternoon. Alternatively, he can work the same time from 9am-5pm, Tuesday to Saturday but this would inconvenience other staff especially since no one works on Saturday. He may also work for four days a week but for longer hours each day to compensate the lost time. The request for flexible time must be in writing to the employer. If the employer does not consent to the request without a justifiable reason, Stewart can forward a claim to the employment tribunal for reconsideration. “In Commotion ltd v Rutty a toy warehouse assistant was refused a reduction to part-time because, for the manager, everyone needed to work full-time to maintain team spirit. The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) ruled that team spirit was not of legitimate grounds thus Rutty was given compensation which amounts to 8 weeks pay.” 16 Alternatively, he could request time off to take care of the child. This is permitted under section 57A ERA 1996. This applies to those who have dependants and would like time off due to dependant’s illness or injury, to make provisions for child care.17 Unfortunately, the child is above five years of age thus the law does not apply. It is also not an emergency; rather, it is something expected hence disqualifies him. He is entitled to parental leave after working for more than one year but still the child is aged more than five years and as such, he has no legal basis for requesting parental leave. The only sensible solution therefore, is to request for flexible working until such a time when his son recovers or stops attending physiotherapy. This translates into changing the terms of the contact agreed earlier between him and the employer to accommodate for the changes. While using flexible time, Stewart will enjoy the same terms and conditions he was enjoying prior to the arrangement. He can also not be treated less favourably than other employees without a similar trait since that would be discrimination which is prohibited under Equality Act 2010. References Chandler, P. 2003. Waud’s employment law: the practical guide for human resource managers, trade union officials, employers, employees and lawyers. London:Kogan Page. Collins, H., Ewing, K.D and McColgan, A. 2005. Labour law: texts, cases and materials. 2nd ed. London: IPL. Davies, A (ed). 2011. Workplace law handbook 2011: employment law and human resources. Cambridge: Workplace Law Group. Employment Rights Act 1996. Available at: www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/18/contents England, G. 2008. Individual employment law. London: Irwin Law Government Equalities Office. 2013. Equality Act 2010: What Do I Need To Know? Available at http://www.equalities.gov.uk/equality-act-2010/equality-act-2010-what-do-i-n.aspx. Accessed 31 Jan, 2013. Holland, J and Burnett, S. 2012. Employment law. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Lewis, D and Sargeant, M. 2004. Essentials of employment law. 8th ed. London: CIPD Maternity and Parental leave etc Regulations 1999. 2013. Available at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk.uksi/1999/3312/contents/made[Accessed 30 Jan, 2013]. Paz, M. 2010. Legal opinion: redundancy and maternity leave. Personnel Today. Available at:http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/05/10/2010/56662/legal-opinion-redundancy-and-maternity-leave.htm [Accessed 2 Feb, 2013] Scrope, H and Baunett, D. 2008. Employment law handbook. London: IPL Working Time Regulations 1998. Available at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1998/1833/contents/made Accessed 31 Jan, 2013. Read More