Thursday, 6 December 2012

Contracts of Employment and Working Hours

By Frank Johnson


An employment contract contains the terms and conditions, both implicit and explicit, of the nature of the relationship between an employer and an employee.

To reach a common ground on contractual conversations, it is vital that calm, reasoned and rational negotiations taken place, if necessary with trade union officials. If the employee wishes to change the nature of employment, he must get an agreement from the employer, and listen to any alternative suggestions and use them to reach an agreement.

Unless your request is covered by statutory labour regulations i.e. religious objections to working on a Sunday, you cannot suggest an alteration of an employment contract without first reaching out to your employer and explaining why you have requested the change. Once any changes are accepted by all parties, they should be confirmed in a new written contract.

Two things are required by law once a contractual change has been agreed by the employers and employees: a new written statement of employment and a letter sent within a month new agreement explaining the new contractual obligations of both sides.

Contractual changes need to be advertised and made public if these terms and conditions are not in the written statement of employment. If contractual changes take place, then the employer has a duty to inform the employee of how to find out about the changes.

If wages or working hours are altered outside of the written statement of employment, and any changes to collective agreements agreed with trade unions or other staffing associations like agencies, then the employer is required to notify the employee. In essence, any changes to employees' contracts should be relayed to the employee regardless of their membership to any union.

A situation becomes problematic if a change of contract occurs without the agreement of one or both parties. If a sacked worker is re-hired on new terms and conditions, a dispute can arise in which a breach of contract occurs arbitration is required.

If an employer is unhappy with his contractual situation, he can utilise any number of options depending on his circumstances: he can use ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service), a Citizen's Advice Bureau or, if they are a member, they can use the legal resources of their trade union. If they seek mediation services, the issue can be resolved in a timely and polite manner without any lasting damage to a contractual situation.

If both of the following apply, then an employee is subject to the terms of a fixed-term contract: they are hired for a specific purpose e.g. construction, or they are hired for a specified time period and a specific end date.

Individuals partaking in education programmes, assigned to work experience schemes or members of the military services are those on non fixed-term employment contracts. Also, if an individual works for a recruitment agency, rather than working for the employer for which the agency recruits, they are on a non fixed-term contract.

If an individual is employed as a seasonal or casual worker: i.e. staff hired to cover a busy Christmas period or specialist for a particular task in employment, or if they are covering for maternity or illness, they are frequently classed as fixed-term employees.




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