31. Preparing and presenting a case

This chapter provides practical guidance to aid in the preparation and presentation of a case before an employment tribunal. Although it is primarily written from the point of view of the advocate at such a hearing, the material is also relevant to advisors, witnesses and the parties to a case. The text guides the parties to a tribunal case through the whole tribunal procedure from the very beginning. It covers fact management, understanding the law, starting the process—filling in claim and response forms, preparing a schedule of loss, negotiating a settlement, drafting witness statements, disclosure, preparing bundles and advocacy.

26. Working time

This chapter looks at the background to the Working Time Regulations, the core working time rights and the specifics of the law. It then considers some of the arguments that have been raised both for and against such regulation. The Working Time Regulations regulate daily rest, weekly working time, weekly rest and annual leave, among other matters. The maximum weekly working time is forty-eight hours, but the UK has retained an opt-out to this, so a person can agree to work more hours. The opt-out remains extremely controversial amongst fellow European Member States. The chapter also considers remedies if the rights are breached.

23. TUPE

The Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment (TUPE) Regulations aim to protect the interests of employees when the business they work for changes hands, or when their part of an operation is acquired or transferred to another business. They also apply in merger situations, when in-house processes are outsourced, when a contract to provide a service transfers from one provider to another, and when a public sector body such as a local authority ‘contracts out’ services, or indeed, brings formerly contracted out services back in house. They form a specialised corner of employment law, but one which can be very important for large numbers of people. This chapter discusses core TUPE rights, when TUPE applies, consultation requirements, contractual rights, unfair dismissal rights, sharing of information between transferors and transferees, and TUPE Regulations in respect of the takeover of insolvent businesses.

21. Wages and benefits

This chapter examines the distinct areas of employment law that regulate the payment of wages and benefits. It starts by focusing on the national minimum wage and national living wage legislation, describing how these work in practice and assessing the many debates that still surround the effectiveness and impact of this legislation. It goes on to explain the situations in which employers can and cannot lawfully make deductions from pay packets, the right for all employees to receive an itemised pay statement and the administration of statutory sick pay (SSP). Finally, it briefly discusses the regulation of occupational pension schemes.

14. Race discrimination

This chapter deals with race discrimination law under the Equality Act. Race includes colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins. The chapter discusses the historical and legal background of race discrimination law, protected characteristics, prohibited conduct on grounds of race discrimination, and bringing an action in the employment tribunal. Race discrimination legislation mirrors that of other discrimination law. It covers direct and indirect discrimination, victimisation and harassment. For direct discrimination, it also looks at perceptive and associative discrimination, and considers who the comparator may be. It also looks at occupational requirements, which are a defence to an accusation of direct discrimination.

12. Age discrimination

This chapter deals with age discrimination law under the Equality Act. It discusses the history and background of age discrimination law, protected characteristics, prohibited conduct on grounds of age discrimination, and key debates about how the law operates and how it might be improved in the future. There is no longer a default retirement age in the UK. If an employer wishes to retire an employee at a particular age, he has to have objective reasons for choosing that age. Unlike other protected characteristics, direct age discrimination can be justified, and there are a number of exceptions, such as length of service benefits, which have been kept from the Age Regulations of 2006.

7. Contractual employment rights

This chapter introduces the basic principles of the law of contract as they apply to contracts of employment. It focuses on three issues in particular. First we look at how contracts are formed in the context of an employment relationship and at the conditions that need to be in place if a contract of employment is to be enforceable in a court. We then go on to discuss how employers can go about lawfully varying the terms of contracts by using flexibility clauses and other approaches. Finally we discuss the need to provide employees with written particulars of their employment soon after they start working in a new job.

3. Barriers to employment rights

UK employment law does not give equal protection to everyone considered to be working for an employer. In fact, a substantial minority of people who work for private firms, companies and public sector organisations do not enjoy the protection of employment law in some significant respects. There are four types of situation that often deny people the opportunity to bring their claims to court: when a claimant is not considered to be an employee; when a claimant is not considered to be a worker; when a claimant (who is an employee) has not completed sufficient continuous service with their employer; and when a claimant is found not to be working legally in the UK. In addition, employment tribunals operate strict limits on how soon after someone is dismissed or suffers from an instance of unlawful discrimination they make a claim if they want it to be heard. For most tribunal jurisdictions this time limit is set at three months, meaning that after this period has passed a claim cannot be considered because it is ‘out of time’. In practice this rule can also act as a fifth type of barrier preventing people from accessing their employment rights. This chapter focuses on these five types of situations.

25. Health and safety—The civil law

This chapter looks at the civil law arm of health and safety law, which serves to provide compensation to employees or ex-employees who have suffered a detriment due to the unlawful actions of their employers. It focuses on personal injury claims brought to the County Court and High Court and the defences that are available for employers when faced with such litigation. The discussions cover claims due to negligence, breach of statutory duty, breach of contract and constructive dismissal, and stress-based claims.

17. Sex-related characteristics (gender reassignment, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation)

This chapter discusses the law on discrimination due to the protected characteristics of gender reassignment, marital status and civil partnership, and pregnancy and maternity. The Sex Discrimination Act as originally drafted only prohibited discrimination on grounds of sex and marital status. However, civil partners are now treated in the same way as married people. Transgender people, who live as someone of the opposite gender, are protected from discrimination. They can also change their birth certificates so that their new gender is reflected there. Pregnant women have a right not to be discriminated against, and this is a free-standing right. People are entitled not to be discriminated against because of their sexual orientation. The prohibition against sex discrimination covers heterosexuals as well as homosexual people.