EMPLOYMENT LAW TIME CHART

IDS Brief employment law time chart

Statutory right/complaint (SEE ATTACHMENT FOR RESULTS)

Dismissal

Written reasons for dismissal (S.92 ERA)

Unfair dismissal (Part X ERA)

UD for a reason connected with medical suspension (S.108(2) ERA)

UD for taking part in official industrial action (S.238A TULR(C)A)

UD for ‘trade union’ reasons (Ss.152 & 153 TULR(C)A) UD by reason of business transfer (TUPE, Reg 8)

UD for a reason connected with pregnancy, childbirth, maternity, maternity leave, parental leave or dependant care leave (S.99 ERA)

UD for a health and safety reason (S.100 ERA)

UD of a shop or betting worker for refusing to work on a Sunday (S.101 ERA)

UD for a reason connected with the Working Time Regulations 1998 (S.101A ERA)

UD for performing functions as an occupational pension trustee (S.102 ERA)

UD for performing functions as an employee representative (S.103 ERA)

UD related to making a protected disclosure (S.103A ERA)

UD for asserting a statutory right (S.104 ERA)

UD related to national minimum wage (S.104A ERA)

UD related to status as part-time worker (PTW Regs, Reg 7)

UD for enforcing right to working family tax credits (S.104B ERA)

UD related to a claim for union recognition (Sch A1 para 161 TULR(C)A)

UD related to establishment of, or participation in, a European Works Council or information and consultation procedure (TICE Regs, Reg 28)

UD related to status as fixed-term employee (FTE Regs, Reg 6)

Interim relief pending complaint under Ss.100, 101A, 102, 103, 103A ERA or Sch A1 para 161 TULR(C)A (S.128 ERA)

Redundancy/business transfers

Redundancy payment (Part XI ERA)

Consultation with appropriate representatives over proposed redundancies (S.188 TULR(C)A)

Failure to pay remuneration under protective award (S.190 TULR(C)A)

Consultation with appropriate representatives over a business transfer (TUPE, Reg 10)

Failure to comply with a compensation order made under Reg 11 (TUPE, Reg 11(5))

Maternity and parental leave

Right to 26 weeks’ ordinary maternity leave (S.71 ERA)

Right to 26 weeks' additional maternity leave (S.73 ERA)

Right to return to the same job or, if that is not practicable, to a suitable alternative job after additional maternity leave or a period of parental leave of more than 4 weeks (MPL Regs, Reg 18)

Right to be offered alternative work before maternity suspension (S.67 ERA)

Right to be paid during maternity suspension (S.68 ERA)

Right to 13 weeks’ unpaid parental leave in respect of each child, 18 weeks for parents of disabled children (MPL Regs, Regs 13 & 14)

Right to return to the same job after a period of parental leave of 4 weeks or less (MPL Regs, Reg 18)

Right not to suffer detriment in relation to additional maternity leave or parental leave (S.47C ERA)

Discrimination

Sex discrimination claim (Parts I, II & VII SDA)

Race discrimination claim (Parts I, II & VIII RRA)

Disability discrimination claim (Parts I, II & Sch 3 DDA)

Sex discrimination claim under EC law (Art.5 Equal Treatment Directive 76/207)

Equal pay/value claim under EC law (Art.141 EC Treaty & Art.1 Equal Pay Directive 75/117)

Equal pay claim (EqPA)

Preliminary complaint by EOC/CRE (S.73(1) SDA/S.64(1) RRA)

Application by EOC/CRE in connection with discriminatory advertising etc. and/or pressure to discriminate (S.72(2)(a) SDA/S.63(2)(a) RRA)

Trade unions and union members

Interim relief pending S.152 complaint (S.161 TULR(C)A)

Right not to suffer detriment as a result of being a union member or taking part in union activities (S.146 TULR(C)A)

Unlawful exclusion/expulsion from union (S.174 TULR(C)A)

Application for compensation after successful S.174 complaint (S.176 TULR(C)A)

Unjustifiable discipline by union (Ss.6466 TULR(C)A)

Application for compensation after successful S.66 complaint (S.67 TULR(C)A)

Unauthorised deduction of union subscriptions (S.68 TULR(C)A)

Refusal of employment/services of employment agency on grounds related to union membership (S.137/S.138 TULR(C)A)

Time off

Right to unpaid time off for public duties (S.50 ERA)

Right to paid time off to look for work where notice of dismissal by reason of redundancy has been given (Ss.52 & 53 ERA)

Right to paid time off for antenatal care (Ss.55 & 56 ERA)

Right to unpaid time off to care for dependants (S.57A ERA)

Right to paid time off for pension scheme trustees (Ss.58 & 59 ERA)

Right to paid time off for employee representatives (Ss.61 & 62 ERA)

Right to paid time off for representatives of employee safety and for candidates standing for election as such a representative (H&S Regs)

Right to paid time off for safety representatives (SRSC Regs)

Right to paid time off for union duties (Ss.168 & 169 TULR(C)A)

Right to unpaid time off for union activities (S.170 TULR(C)A)

Right to time off for study or training (Ss.63A, 63B & 63C ERA)

Working Time Regulations 1998

Right to daily rest (Reg 10)

Right to weekly rest (Reg 11)

Right to rest breaks (Reg 12)

Right to compensatory rest in case where the above regulations are modified or excluded (Reg 24)

Right to annual leave (Reg 13)

Right to payment in lieu of holiday on termination of employment (Reg 14(2))

Right to pay during annual leave (Reg 16(1))

Right not to suffer detriment in relation to working time (S.45A ERA)

Miscellaneous

Guarantee pay (Ss.28-35 ERA)

Rights on insolvency of employer (Part XII ERA)

Itemised pay statement (Ss.812 ERA)

Written particulars of employment (Ss.17 ERA)

Medical suspension pay (S.64 ERA)

Unlawful deduction from wages (Part II ERA)

Right to be accompanied at a grievance or disciplinary hearing (Ss.1015 ERelA)

Unlawful infringement of human rights by public body (HRA)

Failure to allow access to records relating to national minimum wage (Ss.911 NMWA)

Right not to be treated less favourably because of part-time status (PTW Regs, Reg 5)

Right of part-time worker to receive written statement of reasons for less favourable treatment (PTW Regs, Reg 6)

Right not to be treated less favourably because of fixed-term status (FTE Regs, Reg 3)

Right of fixed-term employee to receive written statement of reasons for less favourable treatment (FTE Regs, Reg 5)

Right of fixed-term employee to be informed by employer of permanent vacancies (FTE Regs, Reg 3(6))

Right of employee employed under successive fixed-term contracts to be regarded as a permanent employee (FTE Regs, Reg 8)

Right of employee employed under successive fixed-term contracts to receive written statement that he or she is a permanent employee (FTE Regs, Reg 9)

Right not to suffer detriment in relation to health and safety (S.44 ERA), Sunday working (S.45 ERA), performing functions as a pension trustee (S.46 ERA) or as an employee representative (S.47 ERA), time off for study or training (S.47A ERA), protected disclosures (S.47B ERA), dependant care leave (S.47C ERA), part-time working (PTW Regs, Reg7) or fixed-term employment (FTE Regs, Reg 6(2)), right to be accompanied at a grievance or disciplinary hearing (S.12 ERelA), national minimum wage (S.23 NMWA) or payment of tax credits by the employer (Sch 3 para 1 TCA)

Contract claim by employee

Contract claim by employer

Wrongful Dismissal – for example, dismissal without full notice.

Notes

(a) There is no qualifying period where a woman is dismissed during pregnancy or during ordinary or additional maternity leave periods (S.92(4) ERA).

(b) For these purposes ‘date of dismissal’ means (i) where the employee’s contract of employment was terminated by notice, the date on which the employer’s notice was given, and (ii) in any other case, the EDT – S.238(5) TULR(C)A.

(c) Starting on 18th birthday if the employee started work before that date.

(d) If during those six months the employee gives a written notice to the employer claiming a redundancy payment or refers a redundancy pay claim to a tribunal or submits a claim for unfair dismissal to a tribunal. The time limit may be extended to one year if during the six months immediately following the first six-month period the employee makes a written claim for payment to the employer or refers a redundancy pay claim to a tribunal or presents an unfair dismissal claim to a tribunal and it appears to the tribunal to be just and equitable that the employee should receive a redundancy payment – S.164 ERA. It may also be extended to one year if the employee dies during the six months following the relevant date – S.176(7) ERA.

(e) At the beginning of the 14th week before the expected week of childbirth.

(f) The Maternity and Parental Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2001 amended Reg 15 to allow parents of children born or placed for adoption up to five years prior to 15 December 1999 to exercise their right to parental leave in respect of those children up until 31 March 2005. A new Reg 13A enables those parents to rely on a period of employment with a previous employer to count towards the one-year qualifying period.

(g) However, an act may be treated as done at the end of a period if it is an act ‘extending over’ that period (S.76(6)(b) SDA/S.68(7)(b) RRA/Sch 3 para 3(3)(b) DDA) – see Barclays Bank plc v Kapur & ors 1991 ICR 208.

(h) There are no expressly stated time limits governing actions under EC law. Time limits will generally be analogous to those under national law, i.e. three months under the EC Equal Treatment Directive (No.76/ 207), and three or six months under Article 141 of the EC Treaty and the EC Equal Pay Directive (No.75/117). In Biggs v Somerset County Council 1996 ICR 364 (Brief 559) a part-time employee brought a claim for unfair dismissal compensation relying on R v Secretary of State for Employment ex parte EOC & anor 1994 IRLR 176 (Brief 513), in which the House of Lords ruled that the qualifying hours thresholds in UK legislation were contrary to Article 141. The Court of Appeal held that the relevant national time limit of three months began to run against the applicant from the date of her dismissal in the 1970s.

(i) According to the House of Lords in Preston & ors v (1) Wolverhampton Healthcare NHS Trust (2) Secretary of State for Health & ors; Fletcher & ors v Midland Bank plc (No.2) 2001 IRLR 237.

(j) No statutory minimum qualifying period, but the rights in question – e.g. payment of statutory notice pay – in practice involve a period of qualifying employment.

(k) In a case where Reg 38(2) applies (complaints by members of the armed forces), the time limit is extended from three months to six months (Reg 30(2)(a)).

(l) Under S.1(2) ERA an employee has a right to receive a written statement of employment particulars within two months of commencing employment. This is the case even if the employment ends before the expiry of the two-month period – S.2(6). By virtue of S.198, however, the right does not apply to an employee if employment continues for less than one month. Accordingly, the right will only apply if the employee has been continuously employed for one month. * ET can extend time limit where they consider it was ‘not reasonably practicable’ to present the complaint in time.

** ET can extend time limit where they consider it ‘just and equitable’ to do so.

*** No extension of time allowed, except possibly where there has been deliberate fraud by the employer, causing the employee to suffer real injustice in missing the time limit – Grimes v Sutton London Borough Council 1973 ICR 240.

**** ET can extend time limit on ‘not reasonably practicable’ grounds, as above, or where delay was caused by reasonable attempts to pursue internal appeal, etc.

***** Under S.7(5) HRA, the court or tribunal has the discretion to extend the time limit to such longer period as it considers equitable having regard to all the circumstances

Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in these pages; they are regularly reviewed and updated. The material is intended to be for information purposes only and does not constitute legal or professional advice and must not be relied upon as such. 02.06.09 (DH)