Employment rights

English law makes a clear distinction between employees and self-employed people. In general, employees have far more legal rights because they are thought to be in a weaker economic position than the self-employed. For example, the 1978 Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act requires that employees be given a written summary of their conditions of work; it provides that employees be given at least a week’s notice if employment is to be ended; and it gives employees the right to compensation if they are dismissed unfairly or made redundant (dismissed because there is no longer any suitable work). This same Act also gives women the right to time off in order to have a baby and the right to return to work within a certain period after having the baby. The application of these rights, however, depends upon the circumstances of employment. For example, people who work part-time (under 16 hours a week) have little protection. Men over 65 and women over 60 are not entitled to compensation for redundancy. The Unfair Dismissal Tribunal sometimes rules that it is fair for an employer to dismiss a sick employee, especially if the employer is a small business. And companies employing fewer than five people do not have to re-employ a woman who leaves to have a baby.