Part-time workers regulations   Amendments that came into force on 1st October 2002

Do you issue company mobile phones?   The potential liability they represent

How much do employees know about their employment rights?   

Part-time workers regulations

Recent amendments

What's this? Bank and Public holidays entitlement for part-time workers?

Amendments to the Part-time workers regulations, which came into force on 1^st October 2002 allows part-time workers to compare themselves to a full-time colleague irrespective of whether either party’s contract is permanent or fixed-term.

One of the areas that employers need to address is the calculation of Bank and Public holidays on a pro-rata basis for their part-time workers if their full-time workers are entitled to them. Supposing a part-time worker works Tuesday to Thursday and hence missing out on all Bank and Public holidays that fall on a Monday and Friday. If this is not allowed for in that workers holiday entitlement calculation then the employer will be in breach of this regulation.

There is a simple formula that all employers who have part-time workers must follow to calculate an individual’s Bank and Public holiday entitlement

Number of Bank & Public holidays (which is 8) / number of days worked by a full-timer * number of days worked by the part-timer = number of Bank & Public holidays the part-timer is entitled to

For example; A full-time worker work 5 days/week and you have a part-timer who works 3 days/week, Tuesday to Thursday:

8/5 * 3 = 4.8 (rounded to 5). Hence this worker would have to be paid an equivalent of a day’s wage for 5 Bank & Public holidays.

However, as Christmas, Boxing day and New Year this year fall on the days this worker normally works then they would be taken as paid holiday as would their equivalent full-time colleagues. Depending on when your holiday year runs this worker will be entitled to another 2 Bank & Public holidays off.

Confused? The government does not appear to have thought through (yet again!) the complexity of implementing this and the added cost and administrative burden on the employers who will need to carry out this calculation each year for every part-time worker. Is it any wonder that some employers would like to choose to ignore it? They do this at their own peril however, as our article, below, on ‘How much do employees know about their employment rights’ shows. With increasing amount of employment information and helplines available to employees, employers can no longer get away with ‘pulling the wool over their employees eyes’!

If you would like advice and assistants on this topic please call Lina Hogg on 01473 890037 or e-mail Lina Hogg

Do you issue company mobile phones?

In The Times on 17 September an article highlighted the possibility of employers being liable for offensive, slanderous or libellous content in mobile phone text messages.

If your employee sends a slanderous text message is it:

1. their liability;
2. the network providers; or
3. their employers?

The author suggested that companies need to develop policies on the use of mobile phones provided by the company to employees, in a similar vein to e-mail and internet policies.

Are the issues involved so very different to the current paradigm of e-mail use or Internet use? If you already have thorough e-mail and telephone policies, updating them to cover text messaging should be relatively straightforward. For organisations without such policies, however, it is certainly worth analysing your approach carefully.

Talking of e-mail & Internet policies, the case of Bob Clarke Vs TXU Direct Sales Ltd highlights the importance of communication of policies and ensuring that employees sign to say they have received and understood it. Mr Clarke a manager on £98K/year salary claimed TXU dismissed him unfairly after passing on an e-mail showing naked women and the headline "Why the Arabs hate us" to six colleagues. Mr Clarke insisted he did not know sending such an e-mail was against company rules. The tribunal has been adjourned until January 2003.

E-mail & Internet abuse is the largest single office menace, leading to more disciplinary cases thandishonesty, violence and health & safety beaches.

Call Lina Hogg on 01473 890037 or e-mail lina.hogg@picassohr.com for a telephone and IT security policy.

How much do employees know about their employment rights?

A recent nationwide telephone survey of 1,000 people was conducted to investigate the level of awareness and knowledge employees have of their employment rights. Both men and women were interviewed, men aged 16-64 and women 16-50, all were economically active.

Nearly 70 per cent of the sample assessed themselves as being well informed or very well informed about employment rights in general.

Around one quarter of respondents felt that they did not need to know more than they already did, whereas half felt that they would like to know more.

Almost half were able to name at least one employment law without prompting, when given an example of an employment right this increased to almost two thirds.

Levels of informed awareness peak in the 36-45 age group, especially among those with high levels of qualifications. Awareness was highest among managerial and rofessional workers, not to mention trade union workers.

So what laws did they know? Minimum wage was the most widespread 91 per cent (this rose to 96 per cent when prompted), followed by health and safety, unfair dismissal, discrimination and least of all awareness of parental leave legislation.

However, over three quarters of respondents were aware of four or more rights when prompted. The study suggests that there are a few general patterns of awareness, which apply across all employment rights and all employees. This does not, however, refer to substantive knowledge on specific issues. Certain features of employment seem to be associated with higher or lower levels of employment, these are:

• The law's visibility and length of time established (e.g. Health and Safety v Work-life balance legislations)
• Publicity and/or controversy (e.g. Data Protection Act)
• The existence of a visible enforcement body
• Their relevance to particular sub groups of the population

Many of these characteristics were linked with labour market advantage/disadvantage. White collar, permanent employees with written terms and conditions appear to have higher knowledge and awareness of employment rights and are also less likely than average to having experienced violations of their employment rights. The target group of the legislation are more likely to be aware and knowledgeable of it (e.g. Disabled respondents are more likely to know the Disability Discrimination Act).

The information in this newsletter is of a general nature and is not a substitute for professional advice. You are recommended to obtain specific professional advice before you take any action.

For further information, advice or assistance on any of the matters raised in this newsletter please contact Picasso HR on 01473 890037.

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