Women's Rights At Work

Alison Clarke

Description

Women’s Rights at Work is a comprehensive guide that begins with the point when a woman finds work right through to the end when she finishes a job through

dismissal or resignation. Starting from the premise that, while rights at work affect

all workers, there are many issues that affect women workers in very specific ways. Topics covered include unfair dismissal, discrimination, harassment, maternity rights, and health and safety in the workplace. A solicitor specialising in women’s

employment rights, Alison Clarke demystifies the subject and provides an up-to-date reference guide to employment law for the non-specialist. Free from legalistic jargon, this book explains any unfamiliar terms in detail in order to make the law accessible to all women who want to assert their rights in the workplace.



This handbook provides guidance on what to do if your employer:



• Asks discriminatory questions at an interview

• Changes your contract without consultation

• Pays you less than a man doing the same job

• Dismisses you because you are pregnant

• Discriminates against you because you work part-time

• Makes you redundant because you were one of the last to be hired

• Refuses to give you a reference
Introduction



1. Finding A Job



2. Getting Started

3. Equality In The Workplace



4. Conduct And Rights At Work



5. Health And Safety At Work



6. Dismissal



7. Post-Employment Problems



8. Useful Addresses, References, Table Of Cases, Table Of Statutes, Table Of Regulations, Abbreviations



Index

Sujets

• Droit et juridique
• Gender
• Human rights
• LAW

Informations

• Publié par: Pluto Press
• Date de parution: 20 janvier 2001
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781849640787
• Langue: English

Extrait

Women’s Rights at Work
A Handbook of Employment Law
Alison Clarke
PPluto Press
LONDON • STERLING, VIRGINIAFirst published 2001 by Pluto Press
345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA
and 22883 Quicksilver Drive, Sterling, VA 20166–2012, USA
www.plutobooks.com
Copyright © Alison Clarke 2001
The right of Alison Clarke to be identified as the author of this work has been
asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data applied for
ISBN0 7453 1564 X hardback
0 1559 3 paperback
10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01
10 987654321
Designed and produced for Pluto Press by
Chase Publishing Services, Fortescue, Sidmouth EX10 9QG
Typeset from disk by Gawcott Typesetting Services
Printed in the European Union by Antony Rowe, Chippenham, EnglandThis book is dedicated to the memory of Pauline Turkie,
a woman who was not afraid to assert her rights.Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Mary Stacey, a solicitor, part-time employment
tribunal chairman and deputy chairman of the Central Arbitration
Committee, for all her help in checking the accuracy of this book.
Thanks also to Jacksons Solicitors, in particular to Kevin Fletcher, for
giving me access to the material needed to produce the book.
Finally, I would like to thank my partner John and son Aaron for
their patience during the time that I have been engrossed in writing
the book.Contents
List of Abbreviations x
Introduction 1
1 Finding a Job 5
Advertisements 5
Recruitment 8
References 20
Convictions 22
Withdrawal of Job Offer 23
Medical Testing 24
2 Getting Started 26
The Contract of Employment 26
Employment Status 30of Women from Overseas 36
3 Equality in the Workplace 39
Equal Pay 40
Discrimination in Pay Systems 47
Maternity Rights 48
Part-time Workers 57
Job Sharers 61
Sex and Race Discrimination 61
Disability 72
Transsexuals 82
Sexual Orientation 82viii Women’s Rights at Work
Age Discrimination 83
Promotion, Transfer and Training under the SDA
and RRA 85Transfer and Training under the DDA 88
Family Friendly Policies 89
4 Conduct and Rights at Work 92
Contract of Employment 92
Deductions from Wages 94
National Minimum Wage Act 1998 98
Trade Union Rights 105
Other Public Duties 112
Job Mobility 114
Office Romances 117
Clothing and Appearance 118
Searches, Surveillance and Drug Testing 121
Sickness at Work 125
Data Protection Act 1998 130
Human Rights Act 1998 134
5 Health and Safety at Work 136
The Common Law 136
Domestic Legislation 137
European 138
Working Time Regulations 146
Violence at Work 157
Working at Home and Working Alone 158
Bullying and Harassment at Work 159
Stress at Work 166
6 Dismissal 169
Unfair Dismissal 169
Constructive Dismissal 173
Wrongful 175
Summary Dismissal 176
Redundancy 177
Notice Period 189
Effective Date of Termination (EDT) 191
Whistleblowing 191Women’s Rights at Work ix
7 Post-employment Problems 196
Claims and Representation 196
Making a Claim 197
At the Hearing 209
Remedies and Compensation 211
8 General 216
Useful Addresses 216
References 219
Table of Cases 219of Statutes 223
Table of Regulations 223
Index 225List of Abbreviations
ACAS Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service
ALL ER All England Law Reports
CH Chancery Division
COET Central Office of Employment Tribunals
CRE Commission for Racial Equality
DRC Disability Rights Commission
DTI Department of Trade and Industry
EAT Employment Appeal Tribunal
ECJ European Court of Justice
EOC Equal Opportunities Commission
EORReview
EqPA Equal Pay Act
ERA Employment Rights Act
GOQ Genuine Occupational Qualification
ICR Industrial Cases Reports
IRLRRelations Law Reports
JES Job Evaluation Scheme
RRA Race Relations Act
SDA Sex Discrimination Act
SMP Statutory Maternity PayIntroduction
Women have the same legal rights at work as men. At least, that’s the
theory. There are, after all, no statutes which only apply to men, no
legislation which is gender specific to them. If anything, the opposite
is true. For instance, women benefit from maternity rights which, by
definition, do not apply to men. Men cannot have six months off
work, get paid for some of it and then demand their old job back.
So why a book about women’s employment rights? Simply
because women suffer more problems in the workplace than men;
problems such as low pay, discrimination and occupational
segregation. For instance, despite the numbers of women in the workplace
in the twenty-first century, they still earn, on average, far less than
men. A statistic that holds true after 25 years of equal pay legislation.
Why, then, are the problems so intractable? It is beyond the remit
of this book to analyse the reasons for women’s inequality at work,
but one issue is clear: women need to work flexibly. For instance,
they need to take maternity leave, possibly more than once,
requiring their employer to find (and pay for) a replacement who has to be
dismissed when the woman wants to return.
But women also have other problems to contend with. Although
there are men who juggle work with domestic commitments, it is
women, on the whole, who shoulder the principal responsibility for
combining work and the family. As a result, they often need to work
part time or at the very least have the option of working flexibly if
those commitments are to be fulfilled.
As a result, because of the inflexible way in which work is
structured, many employers prefer to hire men, not least because they do2 Women’s Rights at Work
not take maternity leave. Employers also carry around their own set
of prejudices. For instance, many seem to think that men are
stronger/more reliable/more likely to ‘fit in’ to the existing
workforce. If the job requires a degree of physical fitness, employers often
take the view that only a man can do the job.
There are, of course, exceptions to the rule. Employers are happy
enough to employ women who are prepared to work for peanuts,
often on a part-time basis. Hence the segregation of women in
lowpaid occupations such as cleaners, nurses, homeworkers, etc.;
occupations which are, incidentally, some of the most vulnerable to
occupational violence. In general, it is women who are most likely to
be harassed, bullied or suffer violence in the workplace.
The workplace can, therefore, be a very hostile environment for
women. Hence the introduction of legislation, like the Sex
Discrimination Act and the Equal Pay Act, to protect them (although
it applies equally to men) from some of the more overt
discrimination they have had to put up with. Unfortunately, some of the
legislation has turned out to be so tortuous in its implementation –
the Equal Pay Act springs to mind – that it has still had little or no
effect on the working environment for women.
The outcome of all this is that women often do not have the time
or the inclination to find out about their rights at work. However, if
they are to survive and assert themselves at work, they need to
become aware of their rights and be prepared to assert them. And
that means all of them – not just the basic right not to be
discriminated against when trying to find a job. It means asserting the right
to work in a safe environment, the right not to be bullied at work,
the right to have time off for training, the right to promotion, the
right to equal pay.
This book aims to ensure that women are familiar with all their
rights. Although it looks in detail at discrimination, maternity rights
and equal pay, it is not restricted to that ‘ghetto’. Nor does it take a
legalistic approach to women’s employment rights. Rather than
describing and explaining how various laws can be used individually
to protect women from discrimination in the workplace, the book
turns that approach on its head. Instead, it considers the problem
from the woman’s point of view by looking at the context in which
she works and by applying individual pieces of legislation to
problems which may arise in those situations.Introduction 3
Basically, the book follows a ‘cradle-to-grave’ approach. It begins
by exploring the potential problems facing women trying to find a
job and ends with an examination of how to pursue a claim for
unfair dismissal. It gives practical advice and tips for most workplace
problems likely to confront women. For example, it will help women
know what to do if their employer:
• Asks discriminatory questions at an interview
• Changes their contract without consulting them
• Pays them less than a man
• Dismisses them because they are pregnant
• Discriminates against them because they work part time
• Makes them redundant because they were one of the last to be
hired
• Refuses to give them a reference
The book also provides a handy checklist of dates by which certain
claims have to be made, thereby ensuring that deadlines are not
missed. It also provides a list of addresses of useful organisations, in
the event that further information is needed.
Of course, women do not have to resort to litigation every time
they want to persuade their employer of their rights. What is useful,
however, is to be familiar with them to give women the confidence
to assert themselves. The law is, in fact, a very crude weapon which
should only be used as a last resort once a woman has exhausted all
possible negotiations with her employer and preferably with the
help of her trade union.
This book will have served its purpose if it gives women the
confidence to assert their rights and to challenge their employer, when
appropriate. The very fact that you stand up for yourself is enough
to send a message to your employer that, although you are a woman,
you are no pushover. All women have the right to be treated fairly at
work. Make sure that you’re one of them.1
Finding a Job
Finding a job is not the easiest thing in the world – a quick look at
the unemployment figures in the UK will testify to that.
Unfortunately for women, the search