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Employment rights

Employment rights are the basis of all employment law. They apply to almost every employment situation and almost every contract of employment. If you are an employer or an employee, they apply to you.

There are two kinds of employment rights. Some come from the contract of employment, which is agreed when a new job begins. These are known as 'contractual rights'. Others are defined by the government, in Acts of Parliament such as the Employment Rights Act 1996 or the Equality Act 2010. These are known as 'statutory rights'.

As an employee, knowing your rights means that you can understand what to expect from your employer, and when you are right to be dissatisfied. Employment rights cover pay, contracts of employment, fair treatment in the workplace and much more. If an employee wants to make a claim against their employer, then these rights will be used to decide whether they have been treated unfairly.

As an employer, you should know what rights your employees have. Employers must take all reasonable and appropriate steps to make sure that their employees' rights are not infringed. A good working relationship and a knowledge of employment rights should avoid the need for employees to take things as far as making a claim against their employer.

How claims come about

If an employee believes they have been treated wrongly, then they can bring a claim against their employer in the Employment Tribunals. In most cases, the employee has three months (from the date that the issue arises) in which they can bring their claim.

The first thing to do, whether you are an employee and you think you may have a claim, or if you are an employer and a claim has been issued against you, is to seek proper legal advice.

Various kinds of claim can be brought in the Employment Tribunals. The most common is Unfair Dismissal, but quite often employees might claim Wrongful Dismissal, deductions from wages, discrimination, redundancy, bullying or harassment.

The law recently changed regarding the period of employment before you can claim Unfair Dismissal. If employment began before 6th April 2012, the employee must have been employed for at least one year. If they started working on or after 6th April 2012, then it's a period of at least two years.

If you think you may have been mistreated at work and you cannot come to an agreement with your employer, then we recommend calling a solicitor for advice. They will be able to recommend a course of action, and making a claim might be the best way to sort things out.

Similarly, if your are an employer and you're facing a claim issued against you, then you should seek the advice of a solicitor in order to defend the claim.

How we work

Protolaw offers a professional, personal service to every client.

We give professional advice to people in difficult situations. With a little help, using a solicitor can be quite straightforward.

Our clients should understand clearly what is going on with their case. It's our job to guide you through the law, speaking and writing clearly and precisely. We use legal terms when necessary, but we don't pile on the jargon.

It is important that you know how your case is progressing. We have regular meetings with our clients to discuss cases in person.

Our clients should be confident that their case is being handled diligently. With Protolaw, you will have a dedicated solicitor who will take care of your case, every step of the way.

We are always on hand to help.

Visit our website for more information, or pick up the phone and we'll be happy to talk to you in confidence.

For more information
visit ProtoLaw Solicitors
or call +44 207 636 2100

We are a firm of lawyers with offices in Central London, W1. We provide professional, efficient and personal legal services to a variety of clients.

We are small enough to care about each and every client, big enough to cope with all matters, whatever their nature, value or complexity.