Business and legislation

Basic employment rights include the right to:

-safe, healthy and reasonably comfy working conditions.

-protection from danger in the workplace.

-Breaks and holidays.

Most of these rights are laid down in employment law. Employees, by law, are entitled to:

- a written statement giving rates of pay, terms and conditions of employments,pensions, notice periods and diciplinary procedures.

-Join a trade union.

-The minimum wage.

-a detailed pay statement

-redundancy payments

-take part in the managment of the business for which they work (under EU laws).

-Not be unfairly dismissed.

The main law regarding health and afety us the 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act. There must be proper washroom and toilet facilities, ventilation, fire exists, and good levels of heating and lighting for all workers. Employers must fit guards to dangerous machines.

The law states that in all matters of recruitment,selection,training, promotion and other areas of human resources there should be no descrimination. This includes the right to equal pay for equal work or responsibility, the main laws cover:

-Equal pay (1970): Men and women should receive equal pay for equal work.

-Sex discrimination (1975): This extended quality to include recruitment,training and promootion opportunities.

-Race relation (1976): This made descrimination on the grounds ofrace or colour, nationality or ethnic group illegal. It set up the commission for Racial Equality (now part of the Equality and Human rights commission) to investifate complaints.

-Disability Discrimination (1995):Employers of 20 people or more cannot discriminate on grounds of disability.

-Age discrimination (2006): Employers cannot exclude people from jobs because of their age.

There are arrangments to deal with employers and employees when employment law is, or may have been, broken. Employment tribunals sit to decide if either side has broken the law and may then award compensation or levy fines.