Trade Unions Trade unions are organisations who represent people at work - their members - and who aim to negotiate on behalf of those members with employers to secure better terms and conditions. They aim both to protect and improve the pay and conditions to which workers are subject whilst campaigning...

Sickness benefit Subject to certain conditions, most employees are entitled to receive statutory sick pay when they are absent from work for a period of at least four days up to a limit of 28 weeks in a three year period. However, in addition to this, many employees also have a contractual right to...

Employees and redundancy Redundancy occurs where you are dismissed from your employment and the reason for that dismissal is not directly related to your ability or conduct but to factors affecting the business and its need for the services of employees generally or you in particular. Those who have...

Health and safety - employee rights and duties It is not only an employer who has obligations to ensure a safe and healthy workplace – employees to have responsibilities as well as rights for their own safety as well as for the safety of their colleagues. The following explains a little more about...

Time off for trade union duties and activities If you are an employee who is a member of a trade union recognised by your employer then you will have certain statutory rights in relation to to taking a reasonable amount of time off work for the performance of union related activities and duties. Paid...

Taking industrial action Forms of industrial action Industrial action is most likely to arise when a workplace dispute is unable to be resolved through negotiation and generally involves the employer or employee taking steps to prevent the other from working or carrying on their business. Involvement...

Setting up a redundancy procedure In the same way that making a will can be seen as tempting fate, so too, for many employers, can setting up a redundancy procedure be seen as tempting problems in the work place. However, this is not a prudent approach to take and, from an employment relations perspective,...

Redundancy and alternative work Whenever a redundancy arises, employers need to give considerations to ways in which they can minimise the impact these will have upon the workforce. One of the ways this can be achieved is considering the possibility of other work - either within the business, in associated...

Alternatives to redundancy Employers should, wherever possible, seek to find an alternative way to deal with problems within their business other than through recourse to redundancy.  This should start at a sufficiently early stage that strategies can be developed for managing the size and make-up...

Redundancy and maternity An employee can be made redundant during pregnancy or maternity leave provided that the redundancy is not in any way related to the pregnancy. Selecting a woman for redundancy because she is pregnant, however, would automatically be regarded as both unfair dismissal and discrimination. No...