Your Rights And Entitlements

What are my rights and entitlements in a new job?

Within two months of starting a new job, you should be given a contract of employment or a written statement of particulars, which will set out some basic things that you need to know. These basic terms of your employment will include, for example, your job duties, the role that you're required to do, where you're supposed to be working, the hours of your work, what your salary's going to be and what sick pay you're going to receive. All of these rights and entitlements should be set out in one document for you.

What are my Statutory Rights in the workplace?

Every employee has a number of statutory rights when they start employment. These are rights conferred to you by the law. Examples of such statutory rights are: After one year's continuous employment, you are entitled not to be dismissed. After two years of continuous employment, you have the right to receive a statutory redundancy payment if you are made redundant. You have the right not to be discriminated against on certain unlawful and prohibited grounds, such as race, sex, sexual orientation, disability and age. You have the right to take maternity, paternity or adoption leave. You have the right to request flexible working. Those are just some examples of the type of statutory rights you have. You should refer to your company's staff handbook and that will set out more of your statutory rights.

What is sick pay?

Sick pay is pay that you will receive if you are unable to come to work because you are off sick. Statutory pay is payable to all employees after four or more consecutive days off sick. It's set at a particular level which changes periodically. You might also be entitled to enhanced sick pay if your company pays that to you. Have a look at the staff handbook or your contract of employment and that will set out whether you're entitled to enhanced sick pay.

Will I be entitled to sick pay?

Every employee is entitled to statutory sick pay after four or more consecutive days of being on sickness absence. If your company offers enhanced sick pay, you may be entitled to it, but it really depends on whether it says that in your contract of employment.

What is holiday pay?

Holiday pay is salary received when you're on annual leave.

Will I be entitled to holiday pay?

All employees are entitled to holiday pay. Full time employees are entitled to at least twenty days holiday, including bank and public holidays. At the moment in England, we have eight public and bank holidays which are included. If you are a part time employee, you'll receive a proportion of that, depending on what you're working.

What are my maximum working hours?

The absolute maximum working hours currently set in England and Wales is 48 hours per week, over an average of 17 weeks. You can work beyond that provided you sign something called an opt-out, which is basically a written agreement to say you'll work more than 48 hours per week.

What is maternity leave?

Maternity leave is a period of leave given to women who are due to have a baby. Often it starts while the women is pregnant and before she has her baby. The ordinary maternity leave period will last for twenty-six weeks which may be followed by a period of additional maternity leave, also for a period of twenty-six weeks. A women might be also entitled to receive statutory maternity pay for a period of thirty-nine weeks. Maternity leave is a complex area so you should probably speak to someone in your personnel or HR Department, or refer to the Department of Trade and Industry website which is really helpful.

Am I entitled to redundancy?

If you have been employed for two years or more and you are made redundant, you might be entitled to statutory redundancy pay. This will be calculated depending on your age, the length of your service and your salary.

Where can I get information on my rights in the workplace?

To get more information on your rights in the workplace, you can have a look at the ACAS web site, or at the Department of Trade and Industry web site, both of which set out the various rights and entitlements that you as an employee would have.

Can I break my contract?

A contract is a legal document, so if you go to break your contract there will be some legal remedy that your employer can take. They could, for example, sue you for breach of contract, or you could be prevented from breaking that contract. As far as possible, you should try to comply with your employment contract.

Will I get paid more for working anti-social hours?

You are not entitled by law to be paid more for working anti-social hours. This is really a matter for your contract of employment and perhaps negotiation with your employer.

Will I get paid more for working bank holidays?

By law, you are not entitled to receive more salary for working on a bank holiday. You should refer to your contract of employment and perhaps negotiate with your employer if you want more money for it.

Will I get paid more if my employer changes my duties?

By law. you're not entitled to receive more money if your employer changes your duties. This could, however, be a time to maybe negotiate a different salary if you think your duties are over or above of what you were doing before. If they're comparable, it's likely that your salary will remain the same.