Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Q&A

by Personnel Today 16 Jul 2002
by Personnel Today 16 Jul 2002

This week’s legal questions and answers

Q: Several of our employees have been employed on a succession of
fixed-term contracts for many years. They are paid less than our permanent
staff and have no pension benefits. One is now demanding his job be made
permanent and his pay and pension benefits equalised. Must we do this?

A: New fixed-term employees regulations are due out this year, which
will prevent less favour-able treatment of fixed-term employees relating to
contractual terms and conditions unless objectively justified.

The regulations will limit the use of successive fixed-term contracts to
four years after which the contract will automatically convert to an indefinite
contract in most cases. The principle of non-discrimination applies to all
contractual terms, conditions and benefits including:

– Pay

– Access to occupational pens-ion schemes

– Opportunities for training and further development

– Access to permanent job opportunities, and

– Other benefits such as holidays and sick leave

Employers are not required to ensure like for like entitlements are provided
but contractual rights for their fixed-term employees must be at least as
favourable as for their permanent employees overall.

The regulations should have been in place by 10 July 2002. A recent delay
has put the proposed implementation date back to 1 October 2002.

Employers still have time to review their fixed-term arrangements and ensure
any necessary action is taken.

Q: I employ local teenagers during their holidays at my hotel. Am I
restricted on how many hours I can allow them to work?

A: At present ‘young workers’ (those over school leaving age but
under 18) are entitled to 12 consecutive hours’ rest between each working day,
two days’ weekly rest and a 30-minute rest break when working for longer than
four-and-a-half hours.

However, the DTI is currently consulting on changes to the law, likely to be
implemented in late autumn, to introduce greater protection for young workers.

It is likely there will be a limitation on young workers’ time to eight hours
per day and 40 hours per week.

There is also likely to be a prohibition on night work which, in hotels,
will prevent working between midnight and 4am.

Q: An employee is hoping to adopt a child some time within the next year.
He says he would want time off but has no contractual right to parental leave.
What are his rights?

A: At present he has only a statutory right to take unpaid parental
leave. His maximum leave entitlement is four weeks per year up to a total of 13
weeks within the first five years after adoption.

New adoption and paternity leave regulations due in force by April 2003 will
boost this entitlement. They provide for 26 weeks’ paid adoption leave followed
by a further 26 weeks’ additional adoption leave. Adoption leave will be
available for only one adoptive parent. The other adoptive parent (or partner
of a lone adoptive parent) will be able to take up to two weeks paid leave
under the new regulations.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Statutory adoption and paternity pay will be equivalent to the standard rate
of SMP which, from April 2003, will be £100 per week – or 90 per cent of
average weekly earnings if less.

By Nicholas Moore, head of Employment at Osborne Clarke

Personnel Today

Personnel Today articles are written by an expert team of award-winning journalists who have been covering HR and L&D for many years. Some of our content is attributed to "Personnel Today" for a number of reasons, including: when numerous authors are associated with writing or editing a piece; or when the author is unknown (particularly for older articles).

previous post
Chancellor announces government investment in homes
next post
Small businesses still offer final pension schemes

You may also like

Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders receive 400% pay rise

4 Jul 2025

FCA to extend misconduct rules beyond banks

2 Jul 2025

‘Decisive action’ needed to boost workers’ pensions

2 Jul 2025

Business leaders’ drop in confidence impacts headcount

2 Jul 2025

Why we need to rethink soft skills in...

1 Jul 2025

Five misconceptions about hiring refugees

20 Jun 2025

Forward features list 2025 – submitting content to...

23 Nov 2024

Features list 2021 – submitting content to Personnel...

1 Sep 2020

Large firms have no plans to bring all...

26 Aug 2020

A typical work-from-home lunch: crisps

24 Aug 2020

  • Empowering working parents and productivity during the summer holidays SPONSORED | Businesses play a...Read more
  • AI is here. Your workforce should be ready. SPONSORED | From content creation...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+