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Dismissal for refusing to do Shop or Betting Work on a Sunday
Legislation gives shop and betting workers the right not
to be dismissed, selected for redundancy or subjected to other detrimental
treatment for refusing
or proposing
to refuse to do work on Sundays. There is no qualifying period of service or
upper age limit for employees who wish to complain that they have been dismissed
for this reason. This protection came into force in England and Wales on 26
August 1994 for shop workers and on 3 January 1995 for betting workers. It
applies in
Scotland, both for shop and for betting workers, from 6 April 2004. It does
not apply to those employed to work only on Sundays.
In England and Wales, employees
who were employed at the time the legislation came into force and have remained
with the same employer since then generally
have these rights automatically. Employees in England and Wales whose contracts
cannot require them to work on Sundays also have these rights automatically.
Employees in England and Wales who, after the legislation came into force,
enter into a contractual agreement to do shop or betting work on Sundays, either
by
formally "opting in" to Sunday working or by taking up a new job
which requires Sunday working, can generally qualify for these rights by "opting-out" of
Sunday working, subject to a three month notice period.
In Scotland, only employees
whose contract cannot require them to work on Sundays have these rights automatically.
Other employees in Scotland can qualify for
them by "opting-out" of Sunday working, subject to a three month
notice period.
Dismissal relating to activities as an Occupational Pension
Scheme Trustee
Employee occupational pension fund trustees have the right
to reasonable paid time off for the performance of their duties and to undergo
training.
A dismissal will be held to be unfair if the main reason
for it is that an employee who is a trustee of a relevant occupational pension
scheme
has performed,
or
has proposed to perform, any functions as such a trustee. There is no qualifying
period of service or age limit for employees who wish to complain that they
have been dismissed for these reasons. It is also unlawful for an employer
to subject
an employee to any other detrimental treatment for these reasons.
A "relevant
occupational pension scheme" means an occupational pension
scheme (as defined in section 1 of the Pension Schemes Act 1993) established
under a trust.
Dismissal relating to the Transnational Information and
Consultation of Employees Regulations 1999
The Transnational Information and Consultation of Employees
Regulations 1999 (Statutory Instrument 1999 no.3323, available from The Stationery
Office) implement
in the United Kingdom the European Works Council Directive, which sets out
requirements for informing and consulting employees at the European level,
in undertakings
or groups with at least 1000 employees across the member states and at least
150 employees in each of two or more of those member states. An employee
will be held to be unfairly dismissed (or selected for redundancy) if he or
she
was, within the meaning of these regulations, a member of a special negotiating
body
or a European Works Council, an information and consultation representative
or a candidate to be such a member or representative, and the reason or the
main
reason for the redundancy or dismissal was that he or she performed or proposed
to perform any functions or activities as such a member, representative or
candidate, or that he or she (or a person acting for them) made a request
or proposed to
make a request for reasonable time off to perform such functions and to be
paid for doing so.
There is additional protection against dismissal for any
employees who take proceedings in good faith to an employment tribunal to
enforce their rights
under these regulations,
or who take certain actions in relation to the procedures governed by the
regulations.
There is no qualifying period of service or age limit for
employees who wish to complain that they have been dismissed for a reason described
in
this
section. It is also unlawful for an employer to subject an employee to
any other detrimental
treatment on these grounds.
Dismissal relating to Jury Service
From 6 April 2005 employees will be unfairly dismissed (or selected for
redundancy) if the reason, or the principal reason, is that they have
been summoned for
jury service or have been absent from work on jury service. There is
no qualifying period of service or upper age limit for employees who
wish
to complain that
they have been dismissed for these reasons. This protection will not
apply, however,
if the employer shows that the employee's absence will cause substantial
injury to his business and makes this known to the employee, who nevertheless
unreasonably
refuses, or fails, to apply to be excused from jury service or to have
his jury service deferred.
Employees are also protected against detrimental
action or deliberate inaction by their employer because they have been summoned
for jury service or have
been absent from work on jury service. However, the protection does not cover
failure to pay remuneration during absence on jury service unless the employee's
contract of employment entitles him to be paid during such an absence.
Dismissal
relating to The European Public Limited-Liability Company Regulations 2004
The
European Public Limited-Liability Company Regulations 2004 (Statutory Instrument
2004 no.2326, available from the Stationery Office) implement in Great Britain
the Directive on employee involvement (2001/86/EC), which supplements the European
company Statute. The Regulations came into force on 8th October 2004.
The Statute
creates a legal framework for a new corporate entity, the European Company
or "Societas Europea" (SE), available to companies operating
in more than one Member State. The supplementary Directive provides for employee
involvement (information, consultation and possibly participation arrangements)
in the SE. In the first instance the arrangements are to be negotiated between
the management and the employees, acting through a Special Negotiating Body
(SNB). If a voluntary agreement is not reached, then certain "standard" rules
will apply, provided management wants to carry on with registration of an SE.
Unfair
dismissal provisions under these Regulations cover any employee acting as
a member of the SNB (or other representative body), an information and consultation
representative, or an employee representative on the company board. Employees
are also protected when standing as candidates to be such representatives
under
the Regulations.
An employee will be regarded as being unfairly dismissed
where the reason or the main reason for the redundancy or dismissal was that
the employee
performed
or proposed to perform any functions or activities as such a representative
or candidate, or that the employee (or a person acting for them) made a
request or proposed to make a request for reasonable time off to perform such
functions
and to be paid for doing so.
There is additional protection against dismissal
for any employees who take proceedings in good faith to an employment tribunal
to enforce their rights
or who apply, complain or appeal to the Central Arbitration Committee or
the Employment Appeal Tribunal under these regulations.
There is no qualifying
period of service or age limit for employees who wish to complain that they
have been dismissed for a reason described in
this
section. It is also unlawful for an employer to subject an employee to
any other detrimental
treatment on these grounds.
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