Your legal rights

<img src="/sites/default/files/justice.jpg" align="right" width="100" hspace="5" alt="scales of justice">Different companies may have different policies, but the law gives you a minimum of rights in various aspects of your employment. In our view, your legal rights are not good enough, but some of them are useful, and it is good to know what they are!

If you think that your employer is breahcing your legal rights, contact RMT immediately.

The Law on Disability Discrimination

Disabled workersIntroduction

1 This is the second in a series of five brief guides to discrimination in employment. They are intended as introductory handouts for trade union representatives and people in the workplace. Their aim is to set out the main provisions which protect and enhance the equal treatment of men and women at work. Since discrimination law has become increasingly complex, the particular circumstances of a case may have a significant impact on the prospects of success and these Guides are not a substitute for legal advice except in the clearest of cases.

A Manager Should Not Deal With a Grievance against Him/Herself

London Underground seems to think that it is OK for a manager to deal with staff grievances against him/herself! Not only is this self-evidently unfair, it also breaches ACAS rules. If your manager tries this, please use the following quotes to insist that the grievance is dealt with by a different manager.

The ACAS guide to discipline and grievances at work (which you can download in full here), states on page 44 that:

Your Legal Rights - Safety

1) The principal safety legislation in the land, the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (Section 7) states:

The employee has a duty in:

“taking reasonable care for your own health & safety and that of others who may be affected by what you do or don’t do”

2) Under the Employment Rights Act 1996, as amended, employees have the right not to be dismissed, selected for redundancy or subjected to any detriment on the following grounds:

The Disability Discrimination Act - a vital piece of legislation

Disabled workersLike most reps and activists in the union I have not had to deal with the Disability and Discrimination Act (DDA) in any great detail. I am aware of the headline issues: the DDA exists; it is a bad thing if an employer discriminates against someone who is disabled; and an employer must carry out a thing called "reasonable adjustments" for existing staff and potential recruits. But that was the extent of my knowledge.

ACAS Code of Practice 3: Time off for trade union duties and activities

This is the ACAS Code of Practice on time off for trade union duties and activities. Have a read through to check that you are getting the rights to which you are entitled.

Introduction

1. Under section 199 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) has a duty to provide practical guidance on the time off to be permitted by an employer: (a) to a trade union official in accordance with section 168 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992; and