ACCA F4 - Corp and Business Law (ENG)

132 8: Contract of employment  Part C Employment law

• There is work available to be done (subject to contractual terms to the contrary) and the
  relevant employee is a skilled worker who needs work to preserve their skills


• There is no breach of duty if there is no work available and the employer continues to pay
  its employees. However, if an employee was appointed to a particular role and no work was
  provided there may be a breach of duty to provide work if it denies the employee the
  opportunity to maintain their skills
  There is no duty to provide a reference when employees leave service. Employers may be liable under
  negligence for not taking reasonable care over accuracy and fairness if they do provide one.
  The importance of these common law implied duties on both parties is that:
   Breach of a legal duty, if it is important enough, may entitle the injured party to treat the contract
  as discharged and to claim damages for breach of contract at common law; and
   In an employee's claim for compensation for unfair dismissal, the employee may argue that it was
  a case of constructive dismissal by the employer, or the employer may seek to justify their express
  dismissal of the employee by reference to their conduct.

5 Statutory duties

Statute implies terms into employment contracts, which may not usually be overridden, regarding pay and

equality, maternity leave and work-life balance generally, time off, health and safety and working time.

Various matters are implied into contracts of employment by statute. Some of them build upon the basic

matters covered by the common law. Most of the employment statutes in this area implement European

Directives on employment law issues. An employer has statutory duties in the following areas:

 Pay and equality

 Time off work

 Maternity rights and the 'work-life balance'

 Health and safety

 Working time

5.1 Pay and equality

There are two key pieces of legislation in relation to pay. These are the Equal Pay Act 1970 and the

National Minimum Wage Act 1998.

5.1.1 Equal Pay Act 1970

Under this Act, contractual employment terms should be at least as favourable as those given to an

employee of the opposite sex. The Act covers terms such as sick pay, holiday pay and working hours,

and it applies to all forms of full-time and part-time work.

5.1.2 National Minimum Wage Act 1998

A national minimum hourly wage was introduced in the UK in 1999 and the rate is reviewed annually.

5.1.3 Pay statements

Employers are obliged to provide an itemised pay statement.

5.1.4 Equality

The Equality Act 2010 seeks to ensure equal treatment in employment and access to employment for

employees, applicants for employment and contract workers, and therefore to outlaw direct

discrimination (including associative and perceived discrimination), harassment (including harassment

by a third party), victimisation and disability-related discrimination at work.

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