Labour Laws In The United Kingdom Quiz

Answer: Relations between employers, employees and trade unions

As the the term clearly indicates, the "labour laws" of the United Kingdom deal with or regulate the relations between employers, employees and trade unions in the country. They guarantee employees a number of rights and deal with various issues that employees may face at the workplace.

Answer: The Employment Tribunal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal

In the United Kingdom, labour laws are enforced by the Employment Tribunal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal. They are part of the tribunals system of the United Kingdom, which are part of the system of administrative justice in the country. Employment Tribunals hear and settle disputes between employers and employees regarding various employment related issues.

They are administered by the Tribunals Service and regulated, supervised and controlled by the Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council.

A request may be made to these tribunals to review their own judgments if they have made minor errors in judgment. However, in case an employment tribunal has made a serious error in deciding a case or has misapplied the law, then the party or parties must appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal.

Answer: The Working Time Regulations, 1988

According to the labour laws of the United Kingdom, people who are employed in any field are entitled to a fair amount of "working time"; that is, they can be employed in a job only for a certain number of hours in a day. The number of hours a person can work in a particular job is regulated by the Working Time Regulations, 1988, as enacted by the United Kingdom to implement the Working Time Directive of the European Union.

These Regulations grant a number of rights to workers, relating to the hours of work. Firstly, the Regulations have a provision for a Maximum Average Working Week, under which workers may not work for more than 48 hours in a week, and those who don't want to work for 48 hours in a week, may opt-out of it. Secondly, it grants workers the right to annual holidays of at least 28 days. Thirdly, it grants workers a break time of 20 minutes at work for work shifts that last for over six hours. Fourthly, the Working Time Regulations of 1988 clearly state that in situations when workers have to work at night, they may not work for more than eight hours in a twenty-four hour period. This is called a Night Shift.

Answer: Children may work part-time after they reach the age of 13

According to the child labour laws of the United Kingdom, children are allowed to work only after they attain the age of 13 years, and they can take up only part-time jobs at this age. They can take up full-time jobs only after they attain the age of 16 years, and they must attend some type of education or academic, professional or vocational training till they attain the age of 18 years. Once a child is 16 years, he or she can work for up to 40 hours in a week.

The age restrictions don't apply to children who are working in fields such as films, television, theatre and modelling, but children who are working professionally in these fields must apply for and be granted a child performance licence.

The labour laws of the United Kingdom also place certain restrictions on the employment of children in general, such as the following: children cannot be employed unless they apply for and are granted an employment permit by the education department of place where they are living. Secondly, children cannot be employed in places which are dangerous or risky to work in, such as factories or industrial sites. Thirdly, children cannot be employed during school hours. Fourthly, children cannot be employed for more than four hours, without being given a break and the break should last for at least one hour. Fifthly, children cannot be employed in pubs and betting shops or gambling dens. In addition, children cannot be employed for more than twelve hours in a week during their school terms, and there are many other restrictions in place so that children are not employed in an unfair way or exploited.

In 1966, the United Kingdom accepted the United Nations Covenant On Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and in 1989, it accepted the United Nations Convention On The Rights Of Children that helped reduce the exploitation of children in the workplace and made it necessary to create safe and healthy working conditions for children who are employed, irrespective of the field in which they are working.

Answer: This is regulated by a number of laws

The labour laws of the United Kingdom have good and effective provisions to help parents of new born children or children who are small or disabled, to take care of them. The laws of the country provide the Right to Leave From Work To Care For Children and there are a number of laws that regulate and govern this right, which are as follows : Firstly, the Maternity and Parental Leave, etc Regulations, 1999, Secondly, The Additional Paternity Leave Regulations, 2010, Thirdly, the Paternity and Adoption Leave Regulations, 2002, Fourthly, The Employment Rights Act, 1996 and Fifthly, The Enterprises Act, 2002.

Under the Maternity and Parental Leave, etc Regulations, 1999, mothers of new born children, who are working are legally required to take leave from their work for two weeks at the time a child is born to them. After that, they can take up to six weeks of paid leave for which they will be paid at the rate of 90% of their regular salary. The mother of a new born child can take up to 26 weeks of unpaid maternity leave. In order to obtain such leave, a mother who is expecting must inform her employer at least fifteen weeks in advance of the expected date of birth. Employers are not required to bear the costs of maternity leave apart from administering payments, since such leave is reimbursed by the British government. Another provision of the Maternity and Parental Leave, etc Regulations, 1999 is that women should not suffer any threat of dismissal or should not be adversely affected professionally during such unpaid leave, and that they should be able to return to work in the same job after 26 weeks of leave.

The Additional Paternity Leave Regulations, 2010 and The Paternity and Adoption Leave Regulations, 2002 regulate Paternity Leave in the country, but in general, the provisions for Paternity Leave are somewhat less generous and under the Additional Paternity Leave Regulations, 2010, the wife or unmarried partner of a man has the right to transfer 26 weeks of her leave rights to her husband or unmarried partner. This provision has been included so that a balance can be maintained regarding the responsibility and burden of child care to be borne by each of the spouses or partners.

Similarly, under the Paternity and Adoption Leave Regulations, 2002, a man who is the father of a new born child is entitled to only two weeks of Paternity Leave, at the statutory rate of pay.

However, there are other legal provisions that parents of children who need care, can take advantage of in order to care for their children. For example, under the Maternity and Parental Leave, etc Regulations, 1999, the parents of normal children can take up to thirteen weeks of unpaid leave until their child or children attain the age of five years, or till their child or children attain the age of eighteen years if one or more of the children are disabled.

Answer: The Health And Safety At Work etc. Act, 1974

In the United Kingdom, the Health And Safety At Work etc. Act of 1974 regulates Occupational Safety and Health. The Act makes employers responsible for making sure that their workers are working in healthy and safe working conditions and also has regulations that deal with risk assessment and management at the workplace. The Health And Safety Executive is the body or authority that is officially responsible for the
implementation and enforcement of the provisions of the Act.

The Occupational Safety And Health Act, 1994 regulates the occupational safety of workers in Malaysia. The Work Environment Act, 1977 deals with the Occupational Safety And Health of workers in Sweden, and the Occupational Disease Control Act, 2002, regulates the health and safety of workers in China.

Answer: The Health And Work Service

Traditionally, the Emergency Medical Advisory Service was the organisation in charge of the health of workers and Occupational Health, but in 2014, it was replaced by a new organisation that is known as the Health And Work Service. The main task of the Health And Work Service is to provide advice and assistance to employers who need to persuade employees who are on long term sick leave, to come back to work.

The Health And Work Service is run with the help of financial support and assistance from the British government.

It offers medical examination and treatment plans to employees who have been absent from work due to illness, on a voluntary basis.

Answer: The National Minimum Wage Act, 1998

The National Minimum Wage Act, 1998, is the law that regulates wages by creating a minimum wage in the United Kingdom. The law was passed by the Labour Party, when it came to power after the elections of 1997 under former Prime Minister Tony Blair. The National Minimum Wage Act was enforced from 1999 onwards and in 2016, it was amended to create a National Minimum Wage for workers who have attained the age of 25 years and above.

The rates of the National Minimum Wage are reviewed and examined annually by an authority known as the Low Pay Commission, which makes recommendations to the government regarding revision or changes in the National Minimum Wage rates.

Answer: The Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act, 1992

The Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act, 1992, is a law passed by the United Kingdom that is in force at present, and regulates trade unions in the United Kingdom. The act clearly defines what trade unions are and also states the rights and responsibilities or duties of trade unions in the country.

It also grants workers the rights to organise and leave trade unions, without running the risk of suffering discrimination or punishment, and the right to go on strike, and support and protect their interests.

It also provides a system of collective bargaining. The Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act, 1992 is largely based on the Trade Disputes Act, 1906.

Answer: Archibald v Fife Council, 2004

The case of Archibald v Fife Council, 2004 is a British labour law case that originated in the United Kingdom, concerning the application of the Disability Discrimination Act, 1995. The appealant, Mrs. Archibald was a woman who was working as a road sweeper for the Fife Council in Scotland. She had to undergo surgery during the time she was employed, but unfortunately, she experienced complications after the surgery and lost her ability to walk, hence she was unable to work, so the Fife Council gave her a job as an office worker. Mrs. Archibald applied several for job vacancies in the council, for which she was short listed, despite her disability, but she was not selected for any of the posts, because according to the council's policy for redeployment at higher grade posts, a candidate had to take competitive interviews. However, Mrs. Archibald made an appeal to the Employment Tribunal and claimed that she felt that she was not selected for any of the posts not because she was disabled now, but because she had worked as a road sweeper, and came from a lower middle class background, and had to compete with people who were basically white collar workers. She was ultimately dismissed from work, and told the court that she had been dismissed in an unjust manner, since the Disability Discrimination Act, 1995, which was in force at that time, required employers to avoid discriminating and make reasonable adjustments for disabled workers, in interviews as well, and the council didn't make reasonable adjustments in her case, to help her in the competitive interviews.

The Employment Tribunal held that the council's treatment was appropriate under the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act, 1995, and dismissed Mrs. Archibald's appeal.

Then Mrs. Archibald appealed to the House of Lords, which was the highest court of appeal at that time, and the House of Lords, in its judgment stated that less favourable treatment isn't justified unless the duty to make reasonable adjustments is taken into consideration. An employer must make reasonable adjustments, to accommodate a disabled person's needs, only then it can be asked whether less favourable treatment is justified. Hence, the court ruled, that under the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act, 1995, the duty to make reasonable adjustments included redeploying an existing employee to fill an existing vacancy, including employing a disabled employee to a job in the same grade or a higher grade, without requiring them to undergo competitive interviews, if it was reasonable. Thus the court concluded that the employment tribunal had not considered whether or not the Fife Council had fulfilled its duty to make reasonable adjustments under the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act, 1995, thus Mrs. Archibald's point was valid and correct.