Employees don’t have a contract unless there is something in writing This is not true. A verbal contract can exist. A contract ‘starts’ as soon as an offer of employment is accepted.
Employees on maternity leave can’t be made redundant Employers are often unsure about women’s rights in these situations but if the redundancy is genuine then an employee who is pregnant or on maternity leave is not exempt from being made redundant.
Employees can say when they take their holidays Some employees might think they can book a holiday and let their employer know a few days before but there are rules so employers can manage their workplace effectively. Employers and employees can agree how and when to give notice of when leave is to be taken.
Employers can’t cancel booked holidays Most employers will do as much as they can to balance holiday requests but sometimes a change in circumstances e.g. a last minute big order, could mean all hands on deck. Employers can cancel booked holidays but they should give notice equivalent to the amount of holiday requested.
Employees must be paid a higher rate of pay if they work on a bank holiday Many employers pay extra for working on a bank holiday for example it might be in their contract. However, there’s no automatic right to getting more pay on a bank holiday.
Employees must be able to take bank holidays off Some employees might think that they automatically get a bank holiday off work but there’s actually no legal right to paid leave for public holidays. Any right to paid time off for these holidays depends on the terms of a worker’s contract.
Employees with young children have a right to work part-time Employees can request flexible working but there’s no right to working reduced hours. At the moment an employer has a statutory duty to consider the request seriously, and to refuse it only if there are clear business grounds for doing so.
Employers should not contact an employee when they are on sick leave Sometimes managers worry about contributing to stress or depression by making contact with their colleague who is off sick. This can be challenging because if you don’t get in touch you may risk the person feeling neglected but if you do you need to be careful to not make them feel as if they are being harassed. The best approach is to make sure any contact is made in a caring and considerate way and that your absence policy sets the expectation that contact can be made.
If an employee is on maternity leave it’s illegal for an employer to contact her about any work-related issues This is not true. Employers can and should keep in contact with employees on maternity leave especially if the employee is at risk of being made redundant.
Employers can only make changes to an employee’s contract of employment in a TUPE situation after a specified period of time There is no time period – changes can be made once the transfer takes place.
