Coursework Title:
Answering E-Mails
Task Details/Description:
You are an HR Manager in a UK based company. Today you have received the following five e-mails. Write a response to each of them. In your response you must refer to relevant case law and statute. You must give clear recommendations.
The word limit for the coursework is 3000 words. This does not have to be split equally amongst the five responses.
Email 1: From the Sales Manager
I am unhappy about the performance of three of my Sales Representatives. They have not met their targets for any of the last six months. So, I met with them all and three of them were very keen to learn how to improve, and three did not seem to care. So, I dismissed the three that did not care and I have given a final written warning to the other three. Is that OK?
Your answer must:
- Identify the key issues
- Refer to relevant statute
- Apply relevant case law. Do not just name a relevant case. You must apply the case, so that the relevance of the case is clear
- Refer to the ACAS Code of Practice
- Give clear recommendations, based on the legal analysis that has been completed.
Email 2: From the Finance Manager
For the last three years we have given all staff a Christmas bonus. This has been a discretionary amount decided by the senior management team. This year we have decided that it is not appropriate to give a bonus because the company has not performed very well. However, some employees are arguing that they have a contractual right to the bonus. Are they correct?
Your answer must:
- Identify the key issues – (Implied Terms in employment contracts) – how often do you have to do something for it to become contractual through custom and practices? (see Smith and Wood’s Employment Law, 9th Edn, 2008, Oxford University Press)
- Refer to relevant statute
- Apply relevant case law
- Give clear recommendations, based on the legal analysis that has been completed
- Recommendation could include having a variety of Christmas bonus e.g. if one year you give a cash bonus, the following year give them a voucher or pay for the Christmas party etc. in order to avoid getting into that contractual situation.
- Please see the links below for more information on contract through custom and practices:
https://www.peninsulagrouplimited.com/guides/custom-and-practice/
https://www.crunch.co.uk/knowledge/employment/custom-and-practice-and-employment-contract-terms/
Email 3: From the Operations Manager
We need to improve security because there have been some thefts on site recently. Previously we have not had a Security Officer present all through the night, but we have now decided that we will do. We have told the four Security Officers we employ that they will have to sleep on site three days a week (we will provide a bed). When they are on duty they will have to carry out a patrol at 10pm, 1am and 5am. They can sleep for the remainder of the time. What do we have to pay them, and are there any problems with this arrangement?
Your answer must:
- Identify the key issues
- Refer to relevant statute (Working Time Regulations 1998)
- The 48 hour limit on the average weekly working time
- The implications of the WTR 1998 for night work
- Rest periods and rest breaks under the WTR 1998
- Apply relevant case law. Do not just name a relevant case. You must apply the case, so that the relevance of the case is clear – see below some case suggestions:
- Landeshauptstadt Kiel v Jaeger (C-151/02)
- Mencap v Tomlinson-Blake
- Shannon v Rampersad CA July 2018
- Give clear recommendations, based on the legal analysis that has been completed.
Legal issues arise concerning sleep-ins and whether night-time hours should be paid at the National Minimum Wage (NMW).
What should an employer count as ‘working time’ depends partly upon which legislation applies. Employer may need to decide whether ‘sleeps-in’ count for purposes of the NMW or to check actual working hours.
For the NMW the current position is that an employer does not need to count sleeping time as ‘working time’, unless the employee is required to be awake and participating in activity.
Email 4: From the Administration Manager
I have had three applicants for the Receptionist job, and I am going to reject all three:
- Suzie has two young children and said she would not be able to start until 9am because she needs to get them to school. We need someone at work from 8.30am so we have rejected her.
- Katerina has epilepsy. As the Receptionist works alone no-one would be there to help her if she had a fit, so we have rejected her.
- Raj is a Muslim and he wanted two hours off on a Friday to attend prayers at the nearby mosque. We said that this would not be possible, because reception cannot be left empty for this long, and we rejected him.
Are there any problems with these decisions?
Your answer must:
- Identify the key issues
- Identify the relevant law (this should be the first sentence of your answer)
- Is there a protected characteristic? If not, you can’t take a discrimination claim
- If there is a protected characteristic, what type of discrimination is it? (direct or indirect discrimination)
- Refer to relevant statute (The Equality Act 2010)
- Think about reasonable adjustments – can we help them to work?
- Apply relevant case law. Do not just name a relevant case. You must apply the case, so that the relevance of the case is clear
- Refer to the ACAS Code of Practice
- Give clear recommendations, based on the legal analysis that has been completed.
Email 5: From the Operations Manager
We need to reduce the number working on the call centre by 25 jobs. Please could you explain the process that we will need to follow, and the reasons that we must follow this process
Your answer must:
- Identify the key issues
- Refer to relevant statute (Employment Rights Act 1996) (redundancy)
- Apply relevant case law. Do not just name a relevant case. You must apply the case, so that the relevance of the case is clear – see King and others v Eaton (1995)
- Refer to the ACAS Code of Practice
- Give clear recommendations, based on the legal analysis that has been completed.
