Employment Law & Practices in the UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Employment Law & Practices in the UK - Essay Example This paper will discuss terms implied at common law into a contract of employment and give an example. The second part will give advice on payment of holiday, working hours and working on holiday. 2. Part 1: Contract of employment. Employees and independent contractors are terms used in the contract of employment. An employee is a person who gives service in place of another in exchange for a salary. Independent contractors resemble employee’s contract but extend service to another. The employee enters into a contract of service while an independent contractor enters into a contract of services. The independent contractors are not entitled to workplace agreement, awards and standards. To differentiate contracts of employment, tests implied by common law are used to determine the relationship. The individual work of an employee and power, together with the command of the employer are assessed. Other tests include: who pays taxed income of the employee and who supplies the resou rces for work. Another test is if the employee can transfer the services to another employer or cause another contract. Lawyers determine if the employee can benefit or lose financially in the contract (Cabrelli, 2008, p. 7). An example is the case involving â€Å"Hollis Vs Vabu Pty Ltd in 2001† (Human rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, 2001, p. 1), the court tested their relationship and saw that their relationship was a contract of employment. Vabu was in control and obtained revenues. Common law causes people to be responsible. It implies confidentiality, being skillful and careful at work. The employer should give a termination notice. The employee and employer should maintain good relations and adapt trust when they work together. Lawyers recommend a written employment contract to define terms of working relationship. New employees need to write a contract of employment so that they obtain specific information on their job description, job title and the relevant te rms of work. They will be aware of their expectation, and obtain information on how to exit incase the contract is no longer favorable. A written employment contract can help an employer retains a competent employee. The agreement on the length of time to serve the employer reduces the number of reasons an employee can chose to terminate a contract. The employee is able to retain the employees they have trained. Another advantage is that the employee becomes obligated to maintain confidentiality. The protection of the company secretes goes beyond the contract. The employee cannot reveal secretes of company which could cause unfair competition. An employment contract will get the best employees if they give the best deal (Honeyball, 2012). Moreover, an employment contract is a way of controlling the employees work. The written contract of employment gives specific details on compensation. Besides being used as evidence in disputes, the written agreement can be used to resolve argumen ts. The contact causes the employer and employee to create a good working relationship as Smith and Baker (2010, p. 66) mention. The challenge with the employment contract is the possibility of the employee being unable to accomplished tasks as agreed. Abrupt termination may not apply because of the agreed length of contract. The employer and employee may have to renegotiate their terms. This is because the funds may not be adequate and could cause financial constrain (Emir, 2012). Another disadvantage is that