Labour Law - Unfair dismissal
Part One A.Alex has worked for ILL (International Leisure Location plc) a chain of leisure and sports clubs as a Sports Coordinator for 30 years. When he started working for ILL men and women had different retirement ages: 60 for women and 65 for men. Once this became unlawful, in 1986 retirement ages were equalized at 60. The trade union which was recognized by ILL negotiated an agreement that existing employees were given the option of retaining 65 as their retirement age, or moving to 60. Alex was one of a number who chose 60. Since 1986 it has been the practice of ILL to allow Sports Coordinators who wished to work on past 60 to take an annual medical and, if they passed it, to work on for an additional year, year by year, to a maximum of 65. Around 75% of Sports Coordinators have taken this option, with 90% of those working until they were 63. Alex will be 60 in September 2008. He has taken the medical examination and passed with the lowest score possible. His work record shows that he has been off with a number of illnesses over the past 2 years, totaling around 10 days each year. There have been two complaints against him by customers alleging failure to follow proper safety procedures in the last six months, both of which have been upheld and he has received two verbal warnings. Alex very much wants to work on after his 60th birthday and wishes to work until he is at
The essay will seek to examine and conclude if Trade Unions, in a twentieth century, still play a pivotal role in the work place. I will consider a number of factors that have shaped employment law today and have somewhat changed the relationship between
Introduction The relevance that Trade Unions play in industrial relations is a question that requires an in depth analysis of their history, their aims and primary roles. The essay will seek to examine and conclude if Trade Unions, in a twentieth century, still play a pivotal role in the work place. I will consider a number of factors that have shaped employment law today and have somewhat changed the relationship between employee and trade unions. This includes an overarching principle of Individualisation of the employment contract, wide spread legislative reforms that have changed the scale of trade unions and employees, a move towards an educational system, and the diminishing use of Collective bargaining. Before I proceed with examining the extent that trade unions play in industrial relations I feel that a brief history of the trade union movement is required. The United Kingdom has long been seen as the heartland of the modern trade union movement over the last century. The emergence of the modern trade union started in the nineteenth century with the beginning of the Industrial era. Alongside a new era came a laissez faire approach by Governments and a rise in capitalism; refusing to accept workers rights and placing more emphasis on productivity. As a result there was a heightened demand for workers to assert their rights and to ensure businesses accepted a level
The National Assembly for Wales is governed by 'an absolute duty' to promote equality in all its functions. What is an 'absolute duty' and to what extent do you think the Assembly is succeeding
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES The National Assembly for Wales and Absolute Duty CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 3-5 EQUALITY IN PRACTICE 6-10 CONCLUSION 11-13 REFERENCES 14-16 The National Assembly for Wales is governed by 'an absolute duty' to promote equality in all its functions. What is an 'absolute duty' and to what extent do you think the Assembly is succeeding? Introduction In July 1997, the Government published its White Paper, A Voice for Wales, which outlined its proposals for devolution in Wales. Subsequently endorsed, by a narrow, 50.3 per cent 'yes' vote, in the referendum of September 1997, Parliament passed the Government of Wales Act 1998 (Great Britain, 1998). This Act established the National Assembly for Wales (NAW) and transferred devolved powers and responsibilities from the Secretary of State for Wales to the Assembly in Cardiff, as soon as the new body met. Its provisions included a directly elected Assembly to deal with the massive budget, previously dispensed by the Secretary of State for Wales. The ratification of devolution enabled the NAW to pass secondary legislation and implement policies, which are particularly relevant to Wales. Unlike the Acts governing Scotland and England, equal opportunities are a prominent feature of the Wales Act: they cover equality of language: 'The Assembly shall in the conduct of its business give effect, so far as is both
employment law problem question
Intro In order to advise Barry as to the legal issues that he faces and what steps he should consider to safeguard the company I will need to evaluate several factors. Firstly I will need to establish the issues that have taken place within the company in relation to the changes that Barry has chosen to implement, as well as all the issues concerning Albert and Denise. The rules of employment Law and relevant case laws would also need to be assessed. I will finally then apply the relevant law and policies to all the issues that Barry and Zephyr Autos are facing. Issues The first issue it that due to the fact that Zephyr Autos has suffered a loss in business with the recent economic downturn, Barry the new managing director is determined too make some financial savings. Barry attempted to negotiate changes affecting the work force with the Union of Car Workers (UCW), including a pay cut, but negotiations broken down without agreement. Under pressure from Head Office, Barry decided to introduce the changes despite not actually coming to an agreement with UCW. So the issue would be if Barry was out of his depth by introducing the changes without coming to an agreement with UCW, and if the employees and UCW can take some form of action against Barry and Zephyr Autos. The second issue would be in relation to Albert who has been working for Zephyr Autos for ten years as a
Women and Workplace
Women and Workplace A kaleidoscope of factors has merged to culminate in inhibiting women's movement in the public arena, even as we enter the 21st century. Despite modernization in various spheres, it is evident that Orwell predicted correctly when he said "All animals are equal but some are more equal than others". The psyche of the masses plays a pivotal role in creating a "naturalized discourse" around the concept of women, rendering it synonymous with nurturing and confinement to the home; what is in reality a social construct, is often made to seem a biological given. One cannot entirely disregard recent efforts made to include women in the occupational sector, yet a cursory glance around the developing world suffices to show that they have not culminated in adequate, effective changes. Men usually derive their power and authority in society from the kind of work they do and the position they might hold in their organization whereas traditionally women have done this through their roles in the family (Wolf, 1979). This has been due to the conventional societal settings where the primary responsibility of females is of marriage and child-bearing and their role as bread earners for the family is considered secondary and thus they are not able to attain positions of power in the work setting. According to gathered data, even as the society progresses and women shift
Affirmative Action on the spotlight
Affirmative Action on the spotlight Marek Janovský, The 60's and 70's American Studies Dr. Francis Raška Introduction: The main objective of this paper is to introduce the issue of affirmative action and its development in its early stages as well as to find out why is affirmative action still hotly debated. This includes a closer look at the claims of proponents and opponents of affirmative action regarding two controversial points with respect to the political steps leading to their implementation. The targeted group, as far as the recipients of the benefits of the affirmative action, is mainly Afro-Americans in education and job sphere. This paper will mainly focus on the most significant arguments both sides defend, and we will equally try to track down the origins of such reflections on the side of the American people. What is affirmative action? Affirmative action does not have an exact definition. It refers to a wide array of "narrowly tailored and highly regulated efforts used by employers and educational institutions" which are intended to remedy historical discrimination of particular minority groups and women by attempting to remove inequality of status which exists throughout the social class hierarchy, thus allowing
Discrimination in the workforce
Discrimination in the Workforce In this essay I will be discussing issues of discrimination especially sex discrimination and how it affects women in an organisation. Case studies will be used to show how discrimination occurs at work and each example will be analysed and evaluated using the consequentialist and non consequentialist approach which includes Kantianism. Immanuel Kant suggested (2001, pg 44, 6) that "treat people as ends, never as means". Discrimination is defined as unfair treatment of an individual or groups of people on the grounds of race, religion, sex, disability or age. McEwan states (2001, page 199, 8) "discrimination is regarded as unethical because it violates human dignity and autonomy and often leads to the withdrawal of rights that should be available to all members of society". Corporate social responsibility is an important issue within the firm and therefore it is stated that all the stakeholders should be treated ethically in a social responsible manner. Milton Friedman however states (2001, Pg 328, 8) that "the company's sole responsibility is profit maximization"; this can affect the perception of how stakeholders are treated. Ethics can therefore be an important tool which can determine values, trust and establish codes and standards which deal with right and wrong business behaviour. One form of discrimination that does take place
Equal Opportunities
Equal Opportunities " It is unlawful to treat anyone, on the grounds of sex, less favourably than another person is or would be treated in the same circumstances." That is the argument put forward by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), perhaps the most significant of European Community interventions in the personnel field, created to ensure effective enforcement of the Sex Discrimination Act (SDA) and the Equal Pay Act (EPA), and to promote equal opportunities (Donnellan 1994: 1). We discriminate between people in many aspects of our life and work. The selection process in particular directly discriminates between people in order to offer the reward of a job to one but not the other. Certain forms of discrimination are acceptable, others are not, and there are certain groups in our society that are discriminated against unfavourably due to the prejudices and preconceptions of the people with whom they have to deal (Torrington and Hall 1991: 353). Verbalised or not, these preconceived ideas influence the actions of those around them and the effects in employment are very clear. These disadvantaged groups consist of racial minorities, people of different religion, the disabled and more commonly, women. Intentional discrimination is based on a set of clearly expressed beliefs about the differences between people. Ideas that women should not work because their place
Employment Law
Employment Law 2008/9 Q.2 An economic downturn has far reaching consequences for employers and employees alike, in particular the motor trade is feeling the pinch of our current crisis. In this essay we will advise Barry, the newly appointed Managing Director for Zephyr Autos (ZA), of any legal issues the Company faces as he decides to introduce changes affecting the workforce, the forced redundancy of a sales representative (Albert), and the legality of his dismissal of a Senior Sales Director (Denise) for gross misconduct. The first problem we shall look at is that under pressure from Head Office Barry decides to implement changes to the terms of the contract of employment, including a pay cut without the approval of the UCW, this would mean an abandonment of any collective agreements with the union and a variation to the employment contract of the individual employee's. It is common place in the auto industry where a section of the workforce belong to a union, that the union negotiate provisions such as pay, hours and holiday, intended to be included in the contracts of the employees who are covered1. The first issue we will examine are the rules of collective agreements, the legality of which is defined by s.179(1) TULRCA 19922states: A collective Agreement shall be conclusively not to have been intended by the parties to be a legally enforceable contract unless the
All age discrimination is unacceptable, even if it benefits an individual. Evaluate and discuss this assertion with reference to key theories on ageing.
Student ID 329897 Ageing Society and Social Policy 'All age discrimination is unacceptable, even if it benefits an individual'. Evaluate and discuss this assertion with reference to key theories on ageing. Age discrimination is said to be worse now than it was over five years ago, with over three-quarters of people believing it will not get any better. Age discrimination emanates from the term Ageism which is a form of prejudice and has created a 'stereotyped homogenous group' which depicts the elderly to be old, frail, physically and mentally inept. Age discrimination can be direct or indirect. Direct forms of discrimination would be if an individual was treated less favourably because of their age or indirectly where by older people are disadvantaged because they are disproportionately affected. In most cases of age discrimination it is the negative aspect which allows for much media coverage however positive discrimination does also occur which receives much less criticism (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3970639.stm). Gerontologists have been studying age and ageing for many years with particular emphasis placed upon the biological perspective although recent studies in particular the disengagement theory have suggested that ageing is not simply biological but fundamentally psychological and social and that age is a socially constructed ideology. Age