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Employment Rights

Looking After Your Employment Rights

The nature of the industry we all work in means that disputes are bound to arise. After all, few of us enjoy the security and benefits you would expect if you had a nine to five office job or a career in the bank. That's why UCATT membership is essential for everyone in construction and allied trades: because some employers will abuse your rights, and without UCATT behind you, it can be a much harder job to assert your rights and get the pay, conditions and respect that you deserve. This page tells you about just some of the areas of employment rights UCATT can help its members with.

Key Employment Rights Issues

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Sick Pay

Employees should normally receive Statutory Sick Pay of £75.40 a week for any period of absence due to sickness. You will be paid by your employer in the same way as you normally receive your wages. This is a right payable to every employee, and you cannot sign away your right to the statutory payment unless it is replaced by a company scheme that is at least comparable.

The payment is subject to a three-day qualifying period, and no payment is therefore due for the first three days of illness. Where there is a second period of sickness within eight weeks you do not have to serve the qualification period again. SSP is available for 28 weeks, and if you are still unable to return to work you will be transferred onto Incapacity Benefit.

Any other sick pay is a matter of your contract of employment. If you work under the CIJC Working Rule Agreement an additional sum of £107.16 a week is payable for 10 weeks once the three-day qualifying period has been served. In local authorities employees have the contractual right to full pay for 6 months, and half-pay for a further 6 months.

Please check with your local official if you work for a local authority, as not all agreements are the same.