calendar of additional rights for employees

If you have the legal status of an 'employee' then you gain extra rights, but you may have to work for a qualifying period. This means the rights do not start on your first day of your job, but only after you have had the same employer for a period of time. This section sets out the extra rights employees enjoy and how long you have to wait for them. You also still have all the worker's rights described above.

Rights when you apply for a job

• You should not be discriminated against in a job selection process because of your sex, race, nationality, disability, age, sexual orientation, religion, because you are transgender or because you are a trade union member.

Rights from your first day at work

• You should be given a written statement of particulars showing how much you earn and any deductions that will be made from your pay. (This is not the same as your contract of employment, though your contract may include some or all of this information.
• You have a right not to have deductions (apart from income tax and National Insurance) made from your pay unless you have agreed to them.
• If you are paying National Insurance contributions, you can claim Statutory Sick Pay after you have been off sick for 4 days in a row.
• You have the right not to be discriminated against for reasons of your sex (including being pregnant), your race, sexual orientation, religion, disability, age, on the grounds of being transgender, or for being a member of a trade union.
• You have a right to equal pay with members of the opposite sex doing the same or a comparable job to you.
• You are entitled to 52 weeks’ maternity leave, even if you were pregnant when you started the job.
• You can have time off for medical appointments if you are pregnant.
• You can take unpaid leave to deal with unexpected family emergencies.
• You have the right for your trade union to be recognised by the employer to negotiate your working conditions if the majority of employees want it.
• You have the right to take a trade union representative or fellow worker into a disciplinary or grievance hearing.
• You can claim breach of contract if your employer sacks you without giving you the agreed notice, or breaks some other term in your contract of employment.
• You have protection from dismissal on some limited grounds including pregnancy, whistle-blowing and trade union activity.

Rights after a month

• You must be given one week's notice of dismissal.
• You must be paid if you are suspended on medical grounds.
• You must be paid wages if you are laid off.

Rights after eight weeks

• You are entitled to a written statement of your terms of employment which must include your pay, hours, where you are expected to work, holidays and other benefits such as a pension entitlement. While the written statement is not a contract of employment, it is very important that you have one as it can be used in a court or tribunal if problems do arise.

Rights after one year

• You are entitled to claim unfair dismissal if your employer sacks you without a good reason, or without allowing you to go through a proper dismissal procedure. (Though the government has been consulting on increasing the qualifying period from one to two years.) You are also entitled to written reasons for dismissal from your employer.

Rights after two years

• You can claim redundancy pay if your job is made redundant (i.e. there is no longer the need for someone to carry out the job that you have been doing and your employer has therefore, following a consultation, ended your contract by giving you notice). The amount depends on your age, your pay and your length of service.

further information