Employment Law

Department of Trade & Industry
DTI has a wealth of useful information on a wide range of issues affecting people at work. Whether you are an employer, an employee, self-employed, an adviser, a researcher or just interested in workplace issues, these sites are the place to find that vital bit of information.

DTI:Employment Relations
EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS DIRECTORATE deals with relationships between workers and their employers, including individual rights as well as collective arrangements.

British Employment Law
A good starting point for all research is the British Employment Law super portal. An amazing range of information is linked from here.

Workplacelaw Network
"brings together those responsible for managing people or their workplace with the UK’s experts in employment, health and safety, and premises law."

Compact Law
Compact Law have an extensive range of free employment law factsheets.

Lawrite.co.uk
Lawrite is a company devoted to supplying "employment law solutions for business". There is a newsletter and a number of fact sheets available free on the site as well as the ability to buy a CD ROM of advice, guidance and forms in this area.

Employment Solicitors UK
Facts about legal requirements & responsibility as employers and entitlements as employees. You are given access to a network of UK solicitors who specialise in employment law and a wide range of issues affecting both employers and employees.

Incomes Data Services
A great deal of useful information on a wide range of employment law issues.

ACAS
The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) runs an impartial and expert information service on most employment matters.

TUC
Trades Union Congress website includes useful information on a range of issues relating to the law at work. Their new workSMART website includes an employment rights database.

Recent Employment Issues:
Fixed Term Work
The Fixed Term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002 are due to come into force on 1 October 2002. Guidance has also been produced. The Regulations prevent fixed term employees being treated less favourably than similar permanent employees, and limit the use of successive fixed term contracts.

Agency Workers Directive
A new website has been set up by Manpower to help firms understand how the Agency Workers Directive may affect them.

Employment Act 2002
Coming into force on April 2003, this is the Act which brings in new legislation on a number of issues such as maternity leave, paternity leave, unfair dismissal, fixed term work, etc. The website includes an Implementation Timetable.

Misuse of Internet and E-mail
According to new research from Personnel Today & Websense, almost one in four employers have dismissed staff as a result of Internet misuse. Their Internet Misuse Survey 2002 can be downloaded as a pdf file.

Bank Holidays
Any right to time off or extra pay on bank holidays depends on the terms of an employee's contract of employment. There is no statutory right. The DTI also has a list of Bank Holidays 2002-2005

Dignity at Work Bill 2001
Proposes that all contracts of employment should include a 'Dignity Clause' preventing employees from feeling distressed as a result of harassment and bullying at work. Can be downloaded as a PDF file.

Human Rights Act
The extensive website from the Lord Chancellor's Department which includes legal guidance as well as the Act itself.

National Minimum Wage
Currently set at £4.20 an hour. There is a 'development rate' minimum of £3.60 an hour (18-21 year olds).

Working Time Regulations
Workers cannot be forced to work for more than 48 hours a week on average.

Further Research
If you need a more in-depth guide to UK employment law sites there is a good collection of links in Freepint Issue No 62. At her excellent legal portal, Delia Venables lists Free Legal Information on the Web - this Employment Link takes you to the Employment section of the site. Or try the Employment Law section of the Lawlinks portal.