"Do you think that current employment law in the UK allows parents to achieve a suitable balance between work and family life?"

"Do you think that current employment law in the UK allows parents to achieve a suitable balance between work and family life?" It is unsurprising that in a country, which has the longest working hours in Europe that the question of a work life balance would come into the public domain. It is true that Family relationships are under increasing threat, as parents struggle to reconcile the demands of work and caring for children. As part of an enquiry into this dilemma the BBC produced a survey, which found that a third of all adults questioned felt that a preschool child would be harmed by their mother working. These findings were mirrored by the work of the Children's society, which found that 61% of adults Believe parents do not get enough time with their children1. The findings reflect "the growing dilemmas over childcare British parents can feel when trying to juggle the many demands of modern life in a country that already puts in the longest working hours in western Europe," the Children's Society said. So it is clear to see that socially there is no suitable life balance in the opinion of the public, however does this reflect the situation in terms of the law? This essay will try and answer the question of a work family life balance in terms of the current British Laws for employees. It is obviously clear to see that the whole issue of a family work life balance begins

  • Word count: 1642
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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Role of Science Technician

Laura Oakley BTEC National Diploma in Forensic Science Role of Science Technician Assignment Two Show an understanding of Employment Rights and Responsibilities of a Science Technician. Rights and Responsibilities of the Science Technicians Like any other job around the science technicians job is bound by employment rights and responsibilities to perform a specific job. Each employee must understand their own responsibilities whilst working for their employer. The science technicians will also have responsibilities to their employers; once a technician is employed they will need to be responsible for the tasks they have been given by their manager in the contract of employment. Once a person is employed a contract of employment will be given. This contract of employment will state all the tasks which will need to be completed by the new employee. A sample of a science technician's contact of employment can be found in the appendix. The contract of employment will show all the information needed to work in that employment such as hours of work and hours they will be given for sick or holidays. Their specific job will also be shown on this contract of employment which will ensure that the employee knows exactly what they must do whilst working. Other things which should be provided to the employee is The scale or rate of pay or the method of calculating pay, when the

  • Word count: 2287
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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The legal and social situation for lesbians, gay men and bisexuals.

Barrister - On behalf of Jeffrey, we are claiming unfair dismissal Introduction The legal and social situation for lesbians, gay men and bisexuals is very different in different parts of the world. In some countries these groups of people enjoy full protection from discrimination, but in some countries homosexuality is still a crime punishable by the death penalty. Existing discrimination against lesbians, gay men and bisexuals at work has been confirmed by a study by the TUC in 1999. Out of some 450 trade unionists asked about their experience at work, no less than 44% reported that they had suffered discrimination because of their sexuality. In the of worst cases this involved dismissal. Amnesty International states that: "at least 70 countries in the world have entered the 21st century with laws on their statute books prohibiting same- sex relations". This report provides evidence that lesbians, gay men and bisexuals all over the world still suffer persecution simply for being who they are. A move towards banning discrimination based on sexual orientation came when British lesbians, gay men and bisexuals serving in the armed forces, were successful in the European Court of Human Rights in challenging the ban of lesbians and gay men in the forces. The Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 are a result of the UK's implementation of the 2000 EU

  • Word count: 3944
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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Selwyn states that it is difficult to categorise working individuals because of the complexity of modern organisation, and despite the arrangements being convenient for those concerned, the lack of clear categories can hinder legal analysis.[1] Identifyin

Selwyn states that it is difficult to categorise working individuals because of the complexity of modern organisation, and despite the arrangements being convenient for those concerned, the lack of clear categories can hinder legal analysis.1 Identifying the employment status of an individual is extremely important because of the rights it determines, and the implications on areas such as national insurance, taxation and vicarious liability.2 In order to order critically consider the validity of Selwyn's statement, the nature of a contract of employment must be examined. Statute and case authority which governs employees, the self employed and workers will be considerably analysed in respect of Selwyn's statement. At first glance, an employee would seem to be an easy category to define. However, the fact that there are different types of relationship that connect to the employee complicates matters; Challinor v Taylor3 illustrates this. Primary legislation is not very helpful when attempting to determine the meaning of an employee. Section 230(1) of the Employment Rights Act4 (ERA) tells us that somebody who is an employee will have a contract of employment. Section 230(2)5 states that 'contract of employment' means a contract of service or apprenticeship whether express or limited, and (if it is express) whether oral or in writing. It is evident that the legislation does

  • Word count: 3399
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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This essay will consider the growth and history of agency workers rights in the UK, as well as the problem of Temporary Agency Work Regulation 2010. The study will be concluded by the examination of key cases and statutes.

Agency workers make up a significant portion of the workforce in the United Kingdom (UK). Currently, the total amount of workers engaged in temporary work through an employment agency is estimated to be over 1 million that is around 3 % of the workforce. 1 Despite this substantial use of agency arrangements in the UK, problems have arisen in terms of the rights granted to agency workers. This essay will consider the growth and history of agency workers' rights in the UK, as well as the problem of Temporary Agency Work Regulation 2010. The study will be concluded by the examination of key cases and statutes. An agency worker arrangement involves temporary workers signing up with an agency which then attempts to find work for the worker on a temporary basis. The agency worker does not have to undertake work for the agency and the agency is under no obligation to find work for them.2 If work is found and accepted then the worker goes to work on a temporary basis for a third party client of the employment agency. The relationship is therefore a triangular one. The worker has a contract with the agency under which the agency will pay them for the work. There is also another contract between the agency and the client, under which the client will pay the agency for the worker3. There is a great deal of variation amongst the type of agency arrangement entered into. Some agencies

  • Word count: 3591
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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Discuss and analyse the legal concept of protected trade dispute. Explain also whether, in the light of the most recent financial climate (credit crunch, recession, depression), the right to strike is still a persuasive means of protection o

Law Of HRM 081375217 1/11/2011 Discuss and analyse the legal concept of "protected trade dispute". Explain also whether, in the light of the most recent financial climate (credit crunch, recession, depression), the right to strike is still a persuasive means of protection of the employees' rights or, alternatively, other forms of protection could be envisaged at legislative level. A trade union is an organisation of workers that have joined together to reach common goals such as better working conditions or pay rates. A trade union on behalf of its members negotiate with employers, for such things as wages, working safety, unfair dismissals etc. The settlements agreed are binding on members, employers and sometimes non members as well. In the beginning of the formation of trade unions during the early 19th century under law these organisations were seen as illegal, however in 1824 the law was reformed through the Combinations Act 1824- 25 in which the unions themselves were not illegal, as long as they were operating in the 'friendly society' purposes, anything outwith this was more than likely still seen as illegal. Strikes were regarded as a "criminal molestation of the employer." (Pitt, G 2011: p352) 1. Trade unions in 1871 under the Liberal government who introduced the Trade Unions Act and the Criminal Law Amendment Act, were legalised and seen as being for the good

  • Word count: 2254
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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Dialogue on Affirmative Action

Nikhil Mavinkurve Philosophy 355 Dialogue on Affirmative Action ALEX: I can't believe that affirmative action is still in place in many institutions in this country. BETH: Why? Affirmative Action programs have helped many people. It is definitely just and appropriate because it is necessary for equal opportunity. ALEX: Everyone speaks about equality of opportunity. What does that mean? Isn't the idea to choose one person over another, simply because of race, gender, or socio-economic disadvantage, wrong? Isn't that prejudicial? BETH: Actually, the idea of Affirmative Action is not prejudicial. Prejudice is a matter of making a distinction or selection based on criteria irrelevant to the selection task at hand. It involves a kind of mistake in judging. For example, if I tend to judge whether a basketball team is well coached by whether I like the coach 's looks when I see his photo on the sports page, I am displaying a prejudice. Affirmative Action programs simply aid those who are at a disadvantage compared to others. At worst, you can probably say it is a form of discrimination, if anything. However, discrimination is not inherently good or bad. Discrimination of some sort is essential to all judgment. Think about it, you discriminate when you shop for cereal at the grocery story. By choosing one brand over another you are discriminating against the

  • Word count: 1906
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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Is there equality between men and women or is it just a myth?

Is there equality between men and women or is it just a myth? In this essay the myth of equality between men and women will be discussed and progress made by women so far, for the fight of equality will be examined. Two areas will be mainly looked at; equality of men and women in the workplace and equality of men and women in the home. In the nineteenth century most women in Britain did not have many of the legal and political rights, which men had. Most women were dependant on men for money and support. They faced major discrimination at work and in education. A wide range of jobs and opportunities were not available to women. The main role of a woman´s life was expected to be that of a housewife and mother, having dinner ready on the table, looking after the children, cleaning the house and answering to her husband, while he went out to work to provide an income for his family. Women were seen as the weaker sex and men were seen as strong and the ruler. It was a strongly male dominated society. However women were not going to stand for this much longer and in the twentieth century began to fight for equal rights hence the uprising of the feminist´s movement. This was to be the start of a long hard upward struggle. During the twentieth century, there has been a gradual improvement in the status of women in Britain. At the beginning of the century the suffragette

  • Word count: 1555
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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The differences between lexical and inflectional morphology

The differences between lexical and inflectional morphology Analogous to the difficulties in defining the term "word", is the great deal of difficulty involved in differentiating between lexical and inflectional morphology. In order to contrast these two morphologies we must, of course define them. As is customary, everything is simple to start with. Lexical morphology is the study of morphological relations among lexemes. Fundamentally it deals with the relationship between complex and simple lexemes. Try, for example, is a simple lexeme, it cannot be broken down into simpler morphological elements. A more complex lexeme would be trying. In addition, there are compound lexemes, an example being swordfish. Different lexemes have separate entries and different definitions in the dictionary. Inflectional morphology, on the other hand, is concerned with the relationship within paradigms. A paradigm, here, are the forms of the same lexeme. These include the past, plural and possessive. A paradigm does not change the grammatical class of its stems. This branch of morphology deals with "semantic opposition among categories" and the formal means, such as inflections, that enable the discrimination between morphosyntactic categories. A morphosyntactic category is one in which criteria from morphology and syntax apply. To give you a specific example of the differences

  • Word count: 349
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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There is a history of poor educational opportunities and job discrimination for Afro-Caribbean in this country.

Racial discrimination has long been a problem in social history. The discrimination of ethnic minorities has been a controversial issue, existent in society, and workplaces for many years. The implementation of ethnic monitoring and positive discrimination in employment has increased the number of ethnic employees and gone a long way to mend the bridge of inequality which has burdened society for a long time. Another method introduced to try and counter the racial inequality in employment is that of Affirmative Action. Affirmative action calls for minorities and women to be given special consideration in employment, education and contracting decisions, to increase their number in the workplace. Affirmative action is a controversial issue which has been debated by many, in this essay I am going to look at the advantages and disadvantages of affirmative action and what affect it has on society. I will also debate whether I think affirmative action is a fair method to implement in organisations, and also whether it can be considered to be fair from a philosophical perspective. Affirmative action was defined as an attempt to enlarge opportunity for everyone, it was designed to redress the imbalances caused by long-standing discrimination. Defenders of affirmative action argue that granting modest advantages to minorities and women is more than fair, given hundreds of years of

  • Word count: 1755
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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