Last time I looked at day 1 rights and now I am going to look at employment rights – part 2 – the return… what you become entitled to after longer service. This is definitely not a complete list but instead a little snippet of some of the main points – please ask if you need guidance.

After 1 month service the entitlements are

• 1 week notice of dismissal or more if it states so in the contract.
• If you are suspended on certain grounds due to a medical threat to health, you must be paid medical suspension pay.
• If you are laid off or put on short time working due to less work available, you are entitled to statutory lay off pay.

Then after 6 months or 26 weeks service you become entitled to the following rights

• the right to ask to work flexibly
• the right to take shared parental leave; 
• the right to take two weeks’ paternity leave; 
• rights to statutory maternity, adoption, shared parental, paternity and bereavement pay. 

After 2 yrs service the following rights are added

• you are able to claim for unfair dismissal
• Statutory redundancy pay
• The right to ask for a written reason for dismissal, this right exists from day 1 if you were dismissed whilst pregnant, on maternity or adoption leave.

As an employer it is vital that you afford these rights to your employee and given the complexity it is advisable to take professional advice – we would say that we aren’t trained lawyers but know a woman who is so if we are unsure we will get professional advice as well!

Phew, I did say that was a big topic and fair play if you have stayed to the end – overall message is to make sure you have all documentation in place before your new employee starts to avoid trouble later. Give us a call and we will help.