Employment laws cover a whole lot of areas. There are employment laws that provide for persons with disabilities. Federal employment guidelines are guidelines that could be applied wherever the worker may reside in the country. However, there are also state guidelines that are being employed. State and federal laws are both complex and are somewhat many in number. The attorney should have an inclination towards these employment laws. Employers are usually required by law to present the state and federal guidelines where employees would be able to see them. However, employment laws are from time to time changed especially when modifications to the work environment happen; laws are sometimes also changed with it. As the working environment continually changes, new concerns and problems arises.

EMPLOYMENT LAW DISTINCTION BETWEEN ‘EMPLOYEES’ & ‘WORKERS’ AFFECT HOLIDAY & PAY RIGHTS

(Based on author’s site www.geocities.com/slfemp)

Affect who the employer is and who is responsible for one’s wage or salary, holiday pay, employer’s contribution to national insurance, pension rights, and employment protection, the legal distinction made between “employees” and “workers”, and between those and “contractors” ~one’s entitlements depend on whether in the eyes of the law one is an employee, or a worker, subcontractor, self employed contractor –or partly a freelancer.

Because of their different legal definitions an ‘employee’ or a ‘worker’ in the eyes of the law may be in fact a ‘contractor’ or a ’subcontractor’, and vice-versa -and employment through an employment agency may or may not itself fall in different category. Definitions and categories affect entitlements.

Many employees lose out on entitlements, because their legal employment category, or because who the law regards as employer, is different than they think or have been told. When one is paid to do work for another it is important to know how the employment contract is formed, and one’s employment status.

Are you liable for your income tax or must the employer deduct it and attend to it at source, what are your holiday and pension entitlements and whose responsibility are they, are you entitled to employer’s part of your national insurance contribution –who is your employer at the workplace that you work, the business you work on the premises of, or an employment agency, or is it you whose responsibility those are, in the eyes of the law?

These affect liability, vicarious liability and the statutorily implied terms of any contract -as well as various other statutory requirements ~from equal treatment to employment protection under the employment laws -many have sued and lost because the employer was not in law the sued party but another.

Often these also affect ‘pay’ (in law defined as being what is received directly or indirectly in cash or kind for work done) ~an ‘employee’ gets full holiday pay, paid leave -a ‘worker’ does not.

In employment there is sometimes a company pension scheme; as the norm the employer must pay part of one’s national insurance contributions (covering, e.g., unemployment, health-care, state-pension) if one is an ‘employee’; but the entitlement is partial if one is a ‘worker’, and nil if one is in law a ‘contractor’ -one’s employment status matters.

The following helps ascertain one’s employment status in law, and who in law is one’s employer.

Is one an ‘employee’ or ’self-employed contractor’? There are three tests that are applied to the question:-

The first is the ‘Control Test’ and is based on this that if the employer controls the job to be done but not how it is done than the person doing the job is an employee; but this test would not be satisfactory, because also to an employee with specialist knowledge, e.g. a company nurse, the employer would not tell how to do the job.

The second, ‘Organisational Integration Test’, seeks to ascertain whether the person paid is an integral part of the business: an anaesthetist was not a self-employed contractor in Cassidy -v- The Ministry of Pensions 1961 ~he was a resident of the hospital -an employee.

But this did not suffice: drivers who were paid for an agreed minimum number of jobs per year and had to wear company uniforms as well as to have the company colours on their lorries and who could not work for the competition without the employer’s permission, but who could choose to do extra work and decided their own routes and used their own lorries and could use at their pleasure substitute drivers, in Ready Mixed Concrete -v- The Ministry of Pensions 1968 were self-employed contractors, not employees.

There is a third, the ‘Multiple Test’ to be applied: ‘one is an employee if.. provides work or service for remuneration.. the business has some degree of control.. without any terms contrary to the employment relationship.’

This is the consideration in the case of those engaged or introduced by employment agencies:-

Who is the employer? Is one, as a specific individual, under the direct supervision and control of the business? If so, one is an employee of the client business -where one works…

Does the business where one works pay that agency and that agency itself pay one? If so, one is not an employee of the client business, but may be an employee or worker of that agency itself -agency staff.

Employees normally receive holiday pay, self employed contractors do not ~but what about the ‘worker’-the casual worker who is not in self employment and yet is also not a regular employee?

Is one an ‘employee’ or ‘worker’? There is a different ‘worker’ category for casual workers which was created under the Employment Rights Act 1996 s.230 (3) to deal with this question.

If a casual worker is genuinely on an ad hoc basis employed, that casual worker is, in law, an employee while he is employed, and for the period/s of such employment has employment rights -e.g., to receive wages and holiday pay.

A ’subcontractor’ normally would be in the category either of employee or of worker on the same basis, but instead of the business where the sub contractor works, of the self employed contractor who engaged the sub contractor.

If there is a dispute about whether a contractor engaged a subcontractor as a self employed person, then the same three tests above are applied to ascertain the employment status of that subcontractor in relation to that contractor.

If that subcontractor receives a wage and is not self-employed in relation to that contractor, then if the subcontractor works regularly for that contractor he is an employee of that contractor, and if he works casually for that contractor he is a worker of that contractor.

Being a ‘freelance-worker’ is, to all intends and purposes, the same as being a self-employed contractor.

One can lawfully be both: an employee or worker, as well as a freelancer -self employed.

If one who is normally an employee or worker wants also to do some freelance work, then one officially is an employee or worker and one’s entitlements in relation to ones normal status are not affected -but those entitlements do not extend to one’s freelance work and employment.

If one normally self employed wants also to do some work as an employee or worker of a business, then one’s official status as self-employed does not change -but one’s entitlements for work done as an employee or worker are not affected to the extent of one’s such work.

If one is not paid for holidays.. if a pension scheme depends on whether one is a freelancer or not.. if the employer is responsible for one’s colleagues’ taxes or pension contributions but not one’s own.. if one is working for one business but is paid by another… one might need to ascertain one’s employment status -the above are the legal tests.

(Laws change –always ascertain current law.)

The author has a website at: http://www.geocities.com/eoa_uk

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Over the years, employees have been victimized, while others succumb to unemployment at times without the slightest of a compensation package. This has widely been contributed to by ignorance on the part of individuals, companies or organizations in failure to be in touch with government rules and regulations with regard to employment laws. These companies tend to illicit negative influences in the eyes of the public.

It has been noted with concern that many companies have a hard time trying to keep pace with the ever-changing laws and other corporate responsibilities. Many of them have fallen into legal tussles with various trade unions for failing to keep up with these regulations. This may in turn be very costly to your organization in terms of finance and reputation.

Commonly overlooked employee laws are those with regard to the physically challenged for they may require specially desired facilities to aid their day to day operations in their working environment. Companies are known to distance themselves from employing those physically challenged which is wrong under employment laws.

There is also the issue of age. There are companies especially in emerging economies that use underage persons as a source of cheap labor. This is wrong as the human resources are a vital cog in the wheel of the company and should be remunerated well. Employers should also stick to the stipulated limits of wages.

There are also certain benefits that an employee is entitled to as per the law and should be provided by the employer. Such benefits are health cover, social security, insurance cover etc. This too may be basis on which legal action can be taken.

Some employers go ahead to employ foreigners so as to benefit from cheap labor since this is unlawful as per employment regulations which states no foreigner can be allowed to work within that specific country without a valid working permit. In cases where these foreigners have valid working permits, employers may a times place inhuman conditions such as overworking them without overtime pay which may attract serious disciplinary actions.

Employment unions were formed to cater for the rights of the various working professions. Employers, organizations and companies should see to it that they keep updating themselves with the ever emerging laws as far as employment is concerned to avoid becoming victims of legal tussles that would discredit them and cause financial losses incurred in settling the law suits filed against them.

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Frank Griffin, the Chief Executive Officer of HR Law Easy Answers, a busy employment law practitioner, advises clients on employment matters. His website http://www.hrlaweasyanswers.com/ delivers answers in relation to employment law and HR matters.

We work to live; we do not live to work.

As early as early adulthood, employment is one of this life’s major concerns. Actually, there are thousands federal laws and state statutes, administrative regulations and jurisprudence in the United States which deal with labor or employment law.

Employment law is very broad. But the most important specific areas include the following:

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• Collective bargaining
• Employment discrimination
• Unemployment compensation
• Pension
• Workplace safety
• Workmen’s compensation

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

The National Labor Relations Act is the main law governing collective bargaining. It expressly gives employees the right to collectively bargain and join unions. It is applicable to most non-agricultural employees and employers who are engage in some aspects of intestate commerce.

Collective bargaining is composed of negotiations between the employees and the employer to determine the conditions of employment such as wages, work hours and compensation and benefits, among others.

Most states have laws, which further regulate collective bargaining and make collective agreements enforceable under state law.

EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION

Discrimination laws prohibit discrimination based on race, gender, religion, national or ethnic origin, physical disability, age and sexual preference by employers.

Bias in hiring, promotion, job assignment, termination, compensation, and various types of harassment are discriminatory practices.

The Federal Constitution and some state constitutions give additional protection where the employer is a government agency or the government has taken significant steps to foster the discriminatory practice of the employer.

UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION

This is insurance for those who are unemployed because they are terminated without the fault of their own. Monetary payments are given to terminated employees until such time that they find a new job.

PENSIONS

Employees continuously receive this monetary compensation from their employers even after retirement.

There are two main forms of pensions, they are:

• defined benefit plan
• defined contribution plan

Defined benefits plan is based on the length of the employee’s service and his wages.

Defined contribution plan is based on the employer’s regular deposit into an account secured for each employee.

WORKPLACE SAFETY

Workplace safety laws establish regulations designed to eliminate personal injuries and illnesses from happening in the workplace. These laws are primarily composed of federal and state statutes.

The Occupational and Safety Health Act (OSHA) is the main law which protects the health and safety of workers in the workplace. It is Congress which enacted this law.

All private employers who are engaged in interstate commerce are subject to the regulations promulgated under OSHA.

WORKMEN’S COMPENSATION

For those who are injured or disabled on the job, these laws give them fixed monetary award as a matter of right without the need of an action in courts.

Under these laws, dependents of workers who were killed while working or suffered work-related illnesses and died will also be given benefits.

While majority of these laws can be considered pro-employees, some were also designed to protect employers by limiting the amount an injured employee may received from the former.

To help you with issues related to your employment, you can consult with our experienced http://www.mesrianilaw.com/Los-Angeles-Employment-Lawyers.html or visit our website to avail of our free case analysis.

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Employee Relations Solutions Inc. was founded by experienced employment lawyers who amassed enviable track records representing employees who felt victimized in the workplace. Time and again, they were struck by how frequently their adversaries lost their cases or were forced into substantial settlements due to a companys lack of knowledge of the numerous legal landmines so often attacked by a seasoned plaintiffs attorney. In addition to legal fees and legal liability, the costs associated …

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Jamil Estorninos is currently jumbling work and law school. He is now only 5 units away from his law degree but 1.5 million miles away from his dream – to become the next John Grisham. He writes while waiting to become a force to reckon with in the legal world.