Labor Law and Employment Relationships - Assignment Example

Case study Since Mandy runs Tip Top Typesetting, a one – woman business and she a number of for which she works, it appears that she cannot be an employee to the Richie and co Ltd. The relationship between Mandy and Richie and co Ltd is that Richie and co Ltd is one of the clients of Mandy. Mandy serves the purpose of carrying out the typesetting of Richie and co Ltd publications. However, it has to be taken into account that she has a contract with the Richie and co Ltd and she gets a specified fee for every piece of work of typesetting for the Richie and co Ltd. Since Mandy gets a ‘fee’ for every piece of work that she does for the Richie and co Ltd, and since she does not draw a salary on a monthly or a weekly basis, she is a freelancer, and not an employee. Richie also does not provide her with health benefits or some other benefits that she would have been entitled to get had she been an employee. Moreover, though Mandy does not work at the offices of Richie and co Ltd all the time. In most of the cases she works from a purpose built summer house in her own garden. Therefore, it can be concluded that Mandy is not an employee of Richie and co Ltd (“How to tell if you’re a freelancer or an employee, by Maggie”). 2. Sonia, too, cannot be regarded as an employee of the Richie and co Ltd. Sine Ida needs a service provider to serve the purpose of updating her books, sending them to the auditor and preparing the budget for the next year she contacts an employment agency in the name of Perfect Placements. She does it every year. Since the agency has been sending Sonia since past 10 years, she has been working with the Richie and co Ltd for long. Had the placement agency sent some other professional, Ida had to accept him or her, provided that the person would be thought by Ida to be efficient enough. In that case there is no guarantee that Sonia would be sent to Richie and co Ltd every year. Moreover, even if Sonia is sent to the Richie and co Ltd every year, it is for a short term that ends within six weeks. Sonia, in no way, can be called an employee of Richie and co Ltd. 3. If Mandy has to take Legal steps against Ida for breach of contract, she has to do so under employment law of contract. She might not be an employee of the Richie and Co Ltd but she does have a definite contract with the company on the basis of which she is paid a particular fee for the typesetting work she does for the company, and thereby, she becomes a freelancer. Since employee law is applicable to the freelancers also, Mandy can definitely take proceedings against Ida for breach of contract under the employment law (“Freelancers, found to be common law employees, entitled to participate in employee plans”). Mandy can also take legal proceedings under the mainstream law (“Understand Breach of Contract”). It is really very difficult for Mandy to be successful in proving Ida guilty of breach of contract. The basis on which Mandy brings allegation against Ida is the fact that she has discovered Ida having a meeting with Lisa, another freelance typesetter. She has every right to feel upset about it. But this act of Ida is, in no way, breach of contract. The contract that Ida or the Richie and Co Ltd has with Mandy does not mention that she cannot have a meeting with another freelance typesetter or cannot employ another one. If Mandy wants to take legal steps against Ida for breach of contract, the hearing would be before the employment tribunal. Both of them have to go to the civil court for appealing any decision (“Understand Breach of Contract”). 4. Ida is not at all right in her assumption that Bill is not entitled to any employee rights since Bill works on short term basis. In fact, it is mandatory on Ida to have a written contract between Bill and her on behalf of Richie and co Ltd. It has to be taken under consideration that though Bill works in short terms, there is a six month contract between them. Therefore, Ida should offer Bill a written statement of terms of his employment. It is mentioned in “The Fixed-term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002”, that the short term employees or the fixed term employees must be provided with a written statement. 5. How much maternity leave an employee can take depends upon a few factors. The physical condition of the employee, the reputation of the employee in the company in which she works in are some of the factors upon which the length of the maternity leave that an employee is granted depends. However, Reshma is entitled to have a maternity leave of at least 26 weeks (Morris). It may also be longer if she holds good reputation in the Richie and Co Ltd. However, if she has served well and contributed to the growth of the company, the employer may grant her a longer duration of maternity leave. It is mandatory on Reshma to notify Ida for her intention to return to work as soon as possible after her baby is borne. It is quite evident that the Richie and Co Ltd is quite small a company. Therefore, there is the least possibility of the existence of any HR department in the company. The description that has been provided does not have any statement on the existence of the HR department in Richie and Co Ltd. Therefore, Richie is the contact person in order to notify for returning to work after the baby is borne. 6. If there is a legal ground for Susie’s request for absence from work on a daily basis for a certain period so that she can drive her daughter Tammie Marie to her grandmother’s house, Ida will definitely have to pay Susie for the time she spends out of office. Susie’e case has a much stronger ground here. Since she is a single mother, there is none else to take her daughter to her grandmother. If it is proven that it is impossible for the grandmother to drive 20 miles to and fro, the case is even stronger in favor of Susie. In case it becomes a regular affair, there should be a determination of the payment depending upon the daily rate of the employee, in the case, Susie (Fountain and Kushner) 7. Since it is a genuine problem that James is facing regarding the illness of his mother, he definitely has a legal right to support his mother. The right of James is even stronger since there is none else who can support his mother other than James. It appears that it is more a compulsion than a necessity for James. Another factor that has to be noted is that fact that James knows that his mother cannot manage at home without his support. His thinking might not be enough for his getting a leave. He has to produce a medical certificate to testify to the fact that she cannot manages at home without James’ help. Since James’ mother is still in the hospital, there is no scope for the doubt that James is misleading the employer by false information. Apart from the medical certificate, James also has to produce a document that testifies his relationship with his mother. In such case, James cannot be asked to resign from his job (Family and Medical Leave, nd). Neither can he be terminated by his employer. The only thing that Ida the employer can do is to ask him to manage duties at home in such a way that he can give time and energy to his work at office to the best of his ability and affordability. Again, it has to be kept in mind that James cannot keep enjoying this facility for an uncertain period. James can get a maximum leave of twelve workweeks. In this case again, certain factors have to be brought under consideration. For instance, it has to be seen if James has worked 1250 actual hours during the last one year (“Family and Medical Leave”). 8. (a) The ground for Ida to dismiss Mandy is quite strong enough. Since Mandy is a freelancer with Richie and Co Ltd and it is nowhere mentioned that she would be the only typesetter in the company, Ida had the right to have a meeting with another freelance typesetter, and in this case Ida is not liable to inform Mandy. Therefore, Mandy’s allegation against Ida for breach of contract is not quite solid. Moreover, it also has to be kept in mind that Mandy is paid on the basis of each typesetting work that she does with the company. Mandy’s attitude can be regarded as jealousy of a colleague. Therefore, she can be dismissed by Ida. (b) In case of Reshma, Ida does not seem to have a very solid ground for dismissing her since it is a dire necessity for Susie to take the leave. It can be accepted that Ida, rather the Richie and Co Ltd Company is suffering to a great extent for Reshma’s absence. If it is the case that Reshma had informed Ida about this beforehand, Ida would not be justified in dismissing her. (c) In case of Ida’s dealing with Susie regarding her dismissal, it is not impossible for Ida to Ida to dismiss her, but it is definitely quite tough, especially if Ida thinks that Susie is not reliable enough. The problem that Susie faces is no less serious a problem than that in case of maternity. But, if the ground for Susie’s dismissal is her lack of reliability, Ida has got to prove that Susie is not reliable enough. So far as it is stated in the case there is no proof that Susie has lying or she is not reliable. She does not even ask for a leave till things get all right. She agrees to work till noon. Had Ida dismissed Susie on the ground that the work of the company is being hampered and she needs her work done, she might have been successful in justifying herself. (d) James is definitely going to need a lot of time to support his mother at home since it is impossible for his mother to manage without someone, and there is no one else to look after her. All these factors constitute substantial reason for his dismissal being regarded as an unfair dismissal. References 1. Family and Medical Leave, United States Department of Labor, 2009, Retrieved on 5 February 2009 from: http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/ 2. “Freelancers, found to be common law employees, entitled to participate in employee plans”, Bureau of National Affairs, Inc , n.d. Retrieved on 5 February 2009 from : http://www.faqs.org/abstracts/Law/Freelancers-found-to-be-common-law-employees-entitled-to-participate-in-employee-plans.html 3. Fountain, Sharon .F. and Michael. G. Kushner, Erisa Regulations, 2007, United States, Dept. of Labor, BNA Books, 2007 4. “How to tell if you’re a freelancer or an employee”, Gawker, December 10, 2007: Retrieved on 5 February 2009 from: http://gawker.com/news/analysis/how-to-tell-if-youre-a-freelancer-or-an-employee-332170.php 5. Morris, Dean, “Employment Law Explained”, Retrieved on 5 February 2009 from http://www.got-the-boot.com/law/law-17.htm 6. “Personnel Policies for Staff Members”, University of California, 2009, retrieved on February 5, 2009 from: http://atyourservice.ucop.edu/employees/policies_employee_labor_relations/personnel_policies/spp43.html 7. “The Fixed-term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002”, Crown Copywright, 2002, Retrieved on 5 February 2009 from: http://www.wmin.ac.uk/page-483 8. “Understand Breach of Contract”, My Business, Retrieved on 5 February 2009 from : http://www.mybusiness.co.uk/YVnPVzpoc2BfBw.html Read More