Every citizen of the United Kingdom is entitled to fundamental rights. The Human Rights Act 1998 ensures that all citizens are treated equally, with fairness, dignity, and respect, and can be used by all UK residents, whether they are British citizens or foreign nationals.

Having an understanding of your human rights is important. There could be instances when your rights have been infringed but you wouldn’t go to a solicitor UK as you are unaware of your rights. To avoid this, it is recommended that all citizens have at least a basic understanding of their rights. You can also get a law firm UK to know what counts as an infringement of your rights.

The right to life protects your life by law. Suspicious deaths or deaths in custody are investigated due to this right. A UK citizen should also never be tortured or treated in an inhuman or degrading way. The Humans Rights Act also protects citizens against slavery and forced labour.

The right to liberty and freedom means that the State can only imprison a UK citizen with very good reason. Under UK law, a citizen’s rights in custody include getting free legal advice, medical help if they are ill, seeing the rules the police must follow, and seeing a written notice telling them about their rights or an interpreter explaining the notice.

While these rights must be explained to the individual by the custody officer at the police station, under the Human Rights Act, an individual is also considered innocent until proven guilty and has the right to fair trial and no punishment without law.

All UK citizens also have the right to have their privacy and family respected. The Data Protection Act 2018 controls how personal information is used by organizations, businesses, or the government.

The Humans Rights Act also gives citizens the right to marry and enjoy family relationships. In England and Wales, you can get married or form a civil partnership if you are 16 years of age or older, not already married or in a civil partnership, and not closely related.

A same-sex couple can convert a civil partnership into a marriage in England or Wales. According to law firms in London, this can be done at a registered office, local registration office, or religious or approved premises where same-sex marriages are allowed.

As citizens have the right to choose who they marry, when they marry, or if they marry at all, forced marriage is illegal in England and Wales. This includes taking someone overseas to force them to marry, even if the forced marriage doesn’t take place, and marrying someone who lacks the mental capacity to consent to the marriage.

UK citizens also have the right to freedom of thought, religion, and belief, as well as the right to free speech and peaceful protest. By law, however, the organizer of a public march is required to tell the police in writing six days prior to the event. Information you must provide include the date and time of the march, route, and the names and addresses of the organizers.

UK law also ensures that no citizen faces discrimination. A citizen cannot be treated unfairly or discriminated on the basis of age, gender reassignment, being married or in a civil partnership, being pregnant or on maternity leave, disability, race including colour, nationality, and ethnic or national origin, religion, or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.

UK citizens have the right to education, meaning that no child can be denied an education. Protection of property is also a human right and the law protects against state interference with one’s possessions.

Finally, all citizens of the UK have the right to free elections. This means that elections must be free and fair. According to law firms in London, a UK citizen is eligible to vote if they are 18 years of age or older on the day of the election, have registered to vote, aren’t legally excluded from voting, are a British, Irish, or qualifying Commonwealth citizen, and are a resident at a UK address.

Now that you have a clear idea of your rights as a UK citizen, speak to a solicitor UK if you feel like there has been an infringement of your rights. If you need legal advice UK, you can find a solicitor UK through the Law Society of your area or law firms in London.

Collective agreements

What if the employer comes to an agreement about working hours with a trade union? Is this not applicable until it’s included in each individual contract of employment? Employment contract lawyers say that a collective agreement, which is when an employer has an agreement with employee representatives like trade unions or staff association, are also binding.

Collective agreements can include terms like how negotiations will be organised and who will represent employees.

Written statements

While verbal agreements are binding, employers are required to give employees a written statement of employment if the contract of employment lasts for a month or more and this statement must be provided within two months since the start of employment. If the employee works in another country for more than a month during their first two months of employment, the employer is required to give a written statement before they leave.

While this written statement isn’t a contract of employment, it includes the main conditions of employment. Additionally, the written statement isn’t necessarily one document as an employer may give the employee different sections at different times. In the event that this happens, employment contract lawyers say that one of the documents, called the principal statement, must include certain terms.

The name of the business, the employee’s name, job title or description of work, and start date must be included in the principal statement, as should how much and how often the employee will get paid. It should also be mentioned if a previous job counts towards a period of continuous employment and if so, the date the period started.

Hours of work as well as specifics like working on Sundays or at night and overtime must also be included, as should holiday entitlement and if that includes public holidays. The principal statement must also include where the employee will be working and if they may have to relocate. If an employee works in different places, employment contract solicitors say, the principal statement must include where these places will be and the employer’s address.

While these are terms that must be included in the principal statement, a written statement must include how long a temporary job is expected to last, end date of a fixed-term contract, notice periods, collective agreements, and pensions. Who to go to with a grievance, how to complain about how a grievance is handled, and how to complain about a disciplinary or dismissal decision must also be included.

According to regulations, a written statement need not include sick pay and procedures, disciplinary and dismissal procedures, and grievance procedures, but must mention where the relevant information can be found.

In the event that an employee has to work abroad for more than a month, the employer is required to state how long they will be abroad, the currency they’ll be paid in, additional pay or benefits, and terms relating to their return to the UK. This can be given to the employee in a separate document.

If the employee is working in a country in the European Economic Area, the legal minimum in that country for working hours and rest breaks, holiday entitlement, and minimum pay including overtime has to be given to the employee.

Published date - May 11, 2020