The UK is suffering one of the worst recessions of all times, and the new Conservative/Liberal government has been forced to undertake a system of budget cuts and tax rises to fight off the national deficit. Despite being largely the result of the government’s bail-out of the private banks, the pressure is going to be felt in the public sector, with predictions of over 200,000 jobs to be lost over the next 5 years. Many of these will be through voluntary redundancies, retirements and not filling vacant posts, but there will be some who will have to be made redundant.

UK employment law makes it reasonably difficult for public sector organizations to fire their employees, with long processes of competency improvement, sickness monitoring and flexible working schedules all in place to help employees continue to work. However, in situations where redundancies need to be made, there are systems in place to help the employee make a smooth transition out of the job.

The first of these is that of redeployment. Public sector jobs fall across many areas, from education to social housing, but all are administered by a city or county council. Redeployment law requires the employer to research and offer the employee similarly paid positions in a relevant area within the council. By law, they are required to look for work in a similar field with similar levels of responsibility, but as the public sector as a whole shrinks this may become harder to do.

The second system, aimed at helping those unable or unwilling to accept jobs found through redeployment is skills training. This is a small grant made available to employees facing redundancies to help them enroll in further training and education. It is not normally the case that this money covers the entire tuition cost, but it is intended as a stimulus to help the employee use their time out of work productively.

The final system accessible by the employee is take time off during their notice period to hunt for new jobs and attend interviews. The notice period for a public sector job varies, but is usually a minimum of one month, increasing in line with length of service and responsibility. There is no strict definition about how much time during this notice period can be taken to job hunt, but there is a certain moral kindness extended to employees, especially to those that the organization is being forced to release against their own will.

An employer needs to give an employment contract or statement of terms within 2 months of the employees start date. The statement of terms is the absolute bare minimum requirement, as it does not protect the employers properly from any disputes that could arise in employment law. This is why it is essential that an employment contract is drawn up, as it is better for both parties. The contract allows the employer to specify in writing an employee’s duties and responsibilities, so that the employee knows exactly what is expected of them in the course of business.

What needs to be included in a standard employment contract is the name of the parties; employment contract start date; employee’s job title and description; place of work; hours of work; probationary period; salary; assessments; deductions; expenses; holidays; sickness & disability; pensions; notice; restrictive covenants; grievance and disciplinary procedure; retirement; severability; prior agreements; jurisdictions; and particulars of employment.

The names of the parties must be the employer’s organisation details and the employee’s name and address. It is important to include a small statement to say that employment with a previous employer does not count towards the various rights that are gained by employees after one and two years’ service. Therefore the employee starts again from 0 with the new employer. The employee’s job title and description should be what the recruitment advertisement stated or subsequent offer letter, and therefore it also suits the employer to allow for flexibility in the employee’s role of work. The place of work should be specified in the employment contract, therefore allowing the employer to specify the location of where the employee will work and also allows the employer to specify any other location for the future which gives the employer greater flexibility.

In the employment contract, the employee’s hours of work must be stated. If the employer reasonably requests the employee to work additional hours, then the employee must agree to do so. But the additional hours cannot exceed 48 hours work per week as stated in the Working Time Regulations. At the start of an employment, an employer can specify a trial period for the employee, with the option of a short notice at the end of the trial, if the employee has not fulfilled the employer’s expectations, and the employer can also extent the trial period if need be. The employee’s salary must also be included in the employment contract, which details the gross salary before tax, national insurance and any other deductions, as well as when payment is to be made.

If you lose your job through no fault of your own, most states provide benefits that give you a portion of your wages for a period of time or until you can find a new job. There are numerous situations that legally qualify for this benefit. The most obvious situation is in the case of company downsizing. In these job loss scenarios, you rarely need to fight for your compensation. However, there are situations where you may need to show the state and courts that you qualify for these payments, and in these situations you need the help of an unemployment lawyer.

What type of job loss could you face that may make it difficult to receive your compensation? Sometimes you are asked to leave a position not because you were a poor employee, but because the employer is harassing or discriminating against you. Other times you will need to step away from a position because you have received threats or the workplace was hazardous to your health. In these situations, you should still receive this compensation, but you may not always get it. This is where an unemployment lawyer can help. These attorneys understand employment rights in your state and can help you fight for what you deserve if you need to appeal a denied application for benefits.

How Benefits Claims Work

In a typical scenario, you will file for benefits after our job is terminated. If your job was terminated due to company cutbacks or some other straightforward situation, you will likely be awarded your compensation without dispute. In this case you do not need an attorney.

If, however, you were let go because of unscrupulous practices on your employer’s side, you may find that your employer contests your claim. In this station you may find that your claim is denied, and you cannot receive compensation. In this case, you must file a dispute to fight against your employer’s claims against you. The help of an unemployment lawyer is essential to succeeding, particularly if you are fighting a large company who has experienced these cases several times.

Services Offered

Your attorney will begin by explaining your rights and reviewing your case. If it appears that you do have a case that should be approved for compensation, your attorney will agree to represent you. He or she will then handle the paperwork necessary to file the appeal correctly, freeing you to start looking for another job instead of fighting for the compensation you already deserve.

The key to winning the case is proving that you were let go through no fault of your own. Your attorney will help you establish the fact in the mind of the courts that you were a good worker and were the victim of discrimination or harassment, thus leading to your eventual loss of a job.

An unemployment lawyer is experienced in fighting big companies and federal or state red tape to help those without a job, like you, get the compensation they deserve for their years of service to a company. If you are getting ready to fight for your unemployment pay, consider hiring an attorney to help.

In an employment contract, an employee will have stated how much they will be paid and how often. As an employee, you are entitled to receive written pay statements from your employer when you are paid or shortly after the payment have been made. When you start working for an employer, your employer should notify you of the day or date that you will be paid and how you will be paid, such as in cash, by cheque or direct debit. As an employee you must be given a written document stating how much you will be paid, and when, which should be given in the first 2 months of you starting work, which is usually the employment contract.

In is a common misconception that you should be given a payslip. You are not entitled to one if you are not an employee therefore you are a contractor, freelancer or worker; working for the police service; or a merchant seaman, master or crew member working in share fishing and paid by a share in the profits or gross earnings of the fishing vessel you work on.

If you do not come under the excluded groups of those not entitled to a payslip, then you can ask your employer for one. These statements must contain, the amount of your wages before any deductions are made; the amounts of any fixed deductions or total amount of deductions if given a ‘standing statement of fixed deductions; amount of any variable deductions; net amount of wages after deductions; and the amount and method for any part-payment of wages. The employer may also include national insurance number, tax codes, pay rate and payments like overtime, tips, bonuses which may be shown individually.

If it is found that the employer does not write out the fixed deductions on the pay statement, they must give the employee a standing statement of the fixed deductions. This statement must be made in writing, state the amount and intervals at which the deduction is made, contain the purpose and description of the deduction, given to you before your first payslip with fixed deductions and be updated every 12 months at the minimum. If there are meant to be any amendments made that could affect the fixed deductions on your pay slip, the employee must have written notice from the employer of the change or given an amended statement.

As an employee you are entitled to bring about any grievances you may have, including any discrepancies with your pay cheque. The best procedure to follow is to speak to your employer to see if the problem can be resolved informally. If you have a representative or are a member of a trade union, you could ask for assistance in this matter. If this does not work, then the application can be made to an Employment Tribunal.

Work place health and safety legislation outlines 3 basic rights of workers when it comes to workplace safety.

1. know about what hazards are in the workplace and what precautions must be taken to avoid injuries from those hazards
2. participate in safety and health activities in the workplace, without fear of discriminatory actions such as discipline
3. refuse work that one reasonably believes to be dangerous to oneself or to others.

And sometimes, rights are wronged! For instance, a recent survey taken on the Legacy Bowes Group website reported that 21% of respondents did not have or they did not know if their organization had any policies that dealt with the prevention of violence or harassment!

And this statistic is not just a random blip! In fact, over the last couple of years, audits of government departments and agencies within Canada have revealed many gaps in the process of employee training and or communication around polices that deal directly with the prevention of violence or harassment. The existence of these gaps is also a common experience within HR consulting field. In other words, too many organizations are wronging people’s rights.

It is a startling statistic when you realize that the safety and well being of staff and clients are being put at risk here.

What is the reason for this? Are these gaps simply an oversight? If so, perhaps the oversight is as a result of organizational growth or change. Or, a restructuring may have left gaps in who did what and as a result, strategies and initiatives have been dropped. Other times, it could be that this policy is not ” on the radar” and/or is considered a ‘ nice to have, rather than a need to have’. On the other hand, perhaps no one knows that workplace violence and harassment policies are even required! Worse yet, perhaps no one believes workplace violence and harassment guidelines are even needed within their organization.

Whatever the reason for not having workplace violence and harassment guidelines policies or not communicating their existence correctly, it is in my view strategically illegal and just plain wrong.

Legislation makes it imperative that organizations have workplace violence and harassment policies. Organizations must let employees know what these policies are, where the information can be found and what it is employees need to do with that information. If employee communication and training doesn’t happen, an incident could occur and your organization will be liable!