Employment Rights
Your Job
Employment Rights
"They can't do that, can they?"
Your employment rights depend on what type of worker you are. You may be an employee, an independent contractor or an agency worker. Generally, if your employer tells you what work to do and how or where to do it, and deducts PAYE from your wages, then you are likely to be an employee. The following information applies to employees only.
Your terms of employment can come from three main sources:
- your employment contract
- statute or in other words, the law
- how things are done in practice.
The terms in your contract are known as express terms, the terms from either statute or practice are implied terms. What your employer can and can’t do is decided by terms from all three sources.
The terms of your contract may include hours of work, pay rate and frequency, who you report to, the nature of your work. Terms implied by statute include a duty of good faith – you should not use information about your employer for a purpose which would be a betrayal of trust, such as giving it to a competitor. Other implied terms could cover almost anything – if a method of working becomes accepted practice then it may become an implied term. If you have worked certain hours for a long time without complaint then even if they are not reflected in your written contract , they may be a term of your employment.
In considering what your employer has a right to do you will need to consider your contract. If there is a provision about the change that your employer is trying to make, then you may not be able to complain about it. For instance, your contract may include a relocation clause saying that you can be required to work at an alternative location. Since you signed your contract your employer is entitled to hold you to this if it is reasonable in all the circumstances and they need you to move.
Your employer cannot force you to change the terms of your employment. They cannot tell you to accept a pay cut or fundamentally change your working terms. This could be considered to be a constructive unfair dismissal and could give you a claim for unfair dismissal. If your terms of employment are going to be changed then both you and your employer need to agree to it, preferably in writing. If they force terms on you then these may not be binding.
You should check your contract and see if the action your employer wants to take is covered. If in doubt, seek legal advice.
If you would like to discuss how we might help you, please:
-
call any of our office numbers listed at the bottom of this page;
-
contact one of our specialists direct by clicking on their name below; or
-
complete our enquiry form
Members of our team specialising in this area:
