Employment Law Flashcards

What is the distinction between an 'employee', a 'worker', and an 'independent contractor' in employment law?

Answer: Employees work under a contract of employment with full employment rights; workers have an intermediate status with some rights (e.g., minimum wage, holiday pay); independent contractors are self-employed with minimal statutory rights

Employment status determines legal rights: employees (contract of employment) have the fullest rights including unfair dismissal and redundancy; workers (broader category) have rights to national minimum wage, working time protections, and whistleblower protection; independent contractors have no statutory employment rights.

What are the tests used to determine employment status?

Answer: Mutuality of obligation, control, personal service, integration into the business, and the economic reality test — no single test is determinative (Ready Mixed Concrete v MPNI [1968])

Following Ready Mixed Concrete v Minister of Pensions and National Insurance [1968], the irreducible minimum for a contract of employment is: (1) mutuality of obligation, (2) personal service, and (3) control. Courts also consider integration, economic reality, and the overall picture — labels used by the parties are not determinative.

What are the statutory rights of an employee on redundancy?

Answer: A statutory redundancy payment (based on age, length of service, and weekly pay), notice or payment in lieu, and the right to a written statement of the reasons for dismissal

An employee with 2 years' service is entitled to a statutory redundancy payment (calculated by age, length of service (capped), and weekly pay (capped)), minimum statutory notice, and on request a written statement of reasons for dismissal. They may also have a right to an offer of suitable alternative employment.

What is 'constructive dismissal' under the Employment Rights Act 1996?

Answer: Where an employer's repudiatory breach of the employment contract entitles the employee to resign and treat themselves as dismissed

Constructive dismissal under s.95(1)(c) ERA 1996 arises where the employee terminates the contract (with or without notice) because of the employer's conduct. The employer's conduct must be a repudiatory breach (going to the root of the contract or showing an intention to be no longer bound by it), and the employee must not have affirmed it.

What are the 'five potentially fair reasons for dismissal' under s.98 ERA 1996?

Answer: Capability, conduct, redundancy, statutory illegality, and some other substantial reason (SOSR)

S.98 ERA 1996 lists the potentially fair reasons for dismissal: (1) capability or qualifications, (2) conduct, (3) redundancy, (4) contravention of a statutory enactment, and (5) some other substantial reason justifying dismissal of a person in the employee's position. The employer must also have acted reasonably in treating the reason as sufficient.

What is the 'band of reasonable responses' test for unfair dismissal?

Answer: The employer's decision to dismiss falls within the range of reasonable responses available to a reasonable employer — not whether the tribunal would have dismissed the employee in those circumstances

The band of reasonable responses test (Iceland Frozen Foods v Jones [1983]; Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd v Hitt [2003]) means the tribunal asks whether dismissal fell within the range of responses a reasonable employer could have taken — not whether it was the right or wrong decision.