Advice on casual workers rights??

[livingdeadguy]

A colleague of mine has been working in the same dept as me at our local college for 11 months now. He does not have any temporary contract, but has been waiting for a full contract since he started. Its possible he may get this in the next couple of months.

What i need to know is does he have the same rights and entitlement as a contracted employee?

i.e. 1 - we get overtime at time and a half. He gets single rate pay

2 - he does not get paid bank holidays.

3 - he does not get the standard 4.8 weeks paid holiday.

I did hear that after working for a firm for a certain amount of time you should gain these rights. Is this true?

He would like to speak to HR about this but would need to know his rights beforehand.

Any advice would be appreciated

Thanks

[mariefab]

To be on the safe side, I'd suggest waiting a few weeks until your colleague has a whole years continuous employment before approaching HR.

He will then have employment rights to protect him.

[mariefab]

Sorry, I didn't read the title and missed 'casual worker'.

 

If he was employed as a casual worker he will generally have less rights.

[pompeyfaith]

maybe worth phoning ACAS for advice as im sure the law changed and they where given more rights PF

[rickyd]

According the the CAB website practically everyone who engages in paid employment is entitled to paid holidays

 

Who has the right to paid holidays

 

You have the right to take statutory paid holiday from work if you are a worker. This includes people who work full-time, part-time, agency workers and casual workers.

 

Only people who are self-employed and a few other exceptions will not be entitled to statutory paid holiday (see below).

 

The rules about statutory holiday apply regardless of how long you have worked for your employer and regardless of how old you are. However, you don't have the right to statutory holiday if you're a child under school leaving age.

 

Your contract of employment may give you the right to take more than the statutory amount of paid holiday. However, it cannot give you less. If your contract gives you the right to take more than the statutory amount of paid holiday, this is called contractual holiday. The law doesn't say how much contractual holiday you should get, or whether or not it should be paid.

 

Not having a written contract puts the employer in a difficult position rather than the worker as there is always an "implied" contract (by dint of habit) because he has been receiving wages for 11 months. If he wasn't a worker, what were they paying him for?

 

All employees who have worked for their employer for at least two months are entitled by law to a ‘written statement of their terms and conditions of employment’

 

His payslip will determine who is paying tax and national insurance. If the college is paying employers contributions, they are proving he's an employee. He may not be full time or even permanent but he is employed by them. If they are not providing a payslip they are breaking the law.

 

I'm not certain but I believe 16.5 hours a week is relevant in determining what kind of worker someone is, but others on here will be able to advise.

[BeauBrummie]

Sorry, I didn't read the title and missed 'casual worker'.

 

If he was employed as a casual worker he will generally have less rights.

 

Sorry,

 

This is not correct for others who may read this thread.

 

You are employed by the virtue of the fact you go to a place of business and get remuneration in return for your laboured services.

 

As soon as you you become employed (very first minute of the first day) you are governed and likewise your employer is goverened by the Working Time Regulations and also The Employment Rights Act.

 

To say that a worker has less rights is only relevant in regard to how they may be disciplined under 12 months service.

 

One other correction on this thread---From 1 April 2009 the Statutory Minimum holiday entitlement was raised from 4.8 to 5.6 weeks for a 5 day week (Capped at 28 days for a person who works 6 days a week)

 

All employees regardless of there status are entitled to this holiday, if under 12 months service then the employer may ask that a minimum length of service is served before taking any paid holiday. This does not effect the employees statutory right.

 

Beau

[BeauBrummie]

I'm not certain but I believe 16.5 hours a week is relevant in determining what kind of worker someone is, but others on here will be able to advise.

 

The status of a worker is not determined by the number of hours that that person works. The link below is the HMRC guide on how to determine such.

 

HM Revenue & Customs: Employment status: employed or self-employed?

 

Beau

[mariefab]

Apologies for the mistaken information.

 

My googling suggested that a casual worker with no contract of employment wouldn't be protected by the Employment Rights Act.

[BeauBrummie]

Apologies for the mistaken information.

 

My googling suggested that a casual worker with no contract of employment wouldn't be protected by the Employment Rights Act.

 

You are correct in the assumption that a casual worker has limited rights but this is clearly not a casual worker.

 

Just to help a "Casual Worker" in the view of HMRC is someone who is used by an employer on an ad-hoc basis for no more than 2 weeks. The OP has clearly been used far greater than this.

 

A person does not have to be given a "Contract" to gain employment rights. They need to be issued by law with a "Statement of Terms & Conditions of Employment" within 8 weeks of starting. If the employee is not given this statement which covers your "local variations" to the two main acts WTR & ERA then the minimum terms of the acts apply.

 

Hope it is not too complicated

 

Beau