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Employment Rights Act 1996

Employment Rights Act 1996

What is the Employment Rights Act of 1996?

The Employment Rights Act 1996 is a piece of legislation, which in essence, created the framework for modern-day labor law in the United Kingdom. The Employment Rights Act 1996 is as an Act of Parliament passed by the British government to formally codify the existing law on individual employee rights in the United Kingdom. The Employment Rights Act 1996 basically refurbished, amended or agglomerated the previous fundamental labor legislation in the United Kingdom, including: the Contracts of Employment Act 1963, the Redundancy Payments Act 1965, the Employment Protection Act 1975 and the Wages Act of 1985. The Employment Rights Act 1996, through a broad context, primarily concerns itself with the rights awarded to employee, including reasonable notice before fair dismissal, time off for parenting, redundancy and unfair dismissal. 

Employment Rights Act 1996 Overview:

The most critical portion of the Employment Rights Act 1996 is that it covers the majority of British employees; under labor law, an “employee” is any person who signed or adhered to a “contract of employment.” That being said, in many instances, low paid or vulnerable workers (such as agency workers) have been impeded from the protections offered in the employment rights act 1996. This is simply because some judges have taken the stance that there is not enough control in that field to establish a contract of employment. These viewpoints; however, are widely contested throughout Great Britain as the definition regarding employment is under constant protest. 

Specifics regarding the Employment Rights Act 1996:

The employment rights act 1996, in its first part, defines the employment contract and states that it must be in writing and provided to the employee within eight weeks of their start date. This document confirms the terms of the employee to employer relationship; it establishes the expectations of the employment and provides a legal and evidential basis for the work—if either party violates the employment contract the subsequent claim (if any is filed) will be ruled based on the terms expressed in the contract.

• Parts II and III of the employment rights act 1996 elucidates on the employees’ wages and payments; in essence, these parts of the employment rights act 1996 were formerly found in the Wages Act 1986.

• Parts IV and V go over disclosures and detriments, including protections awarded to the employee against detriments suffered because of the company disclosing information for public benefit. 

• Parts IV, VI and VII of the employment rights act 1996 elucidate on paid time off from work, training and natal care. Additionally, these parts go over dismissal related to health and safety or asserting statutory rights as well as dismissal related to a request for flexible working hours.

• Part VIII of the employment rights act 1996 goes over child care, while part IX of the legislation dissects dismissal notice and reasons for. Part X is a lengthy passage that affirms regulations regarding unfair dismissal, Part XI discusses Redundancy and Part XII touches on the employee’s rights if the company goes insolvent.