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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.
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Guaranteed pay and lay off provisions

General

An employee who is not provided with work throughout a day during which he would normally be required to work under his contract of employment is entitled to be paid a guarantee payment by his employer if:

  • there is a reduction in the requirements of the employer's business for work of the kind which the employee is employed to do; or
  • there is any other occurrence which affects the normal working of the business in relation to this type of work.

However, the entitlement to a guarantee payment is also subject to the following provisos:

  • guaranteed payments can be made only in respect of a complete working day lost - they are not required to be made in respect of a day in which some work is provided, even if that work is provided outside normal working hours;
  • an employee must comply with any reasonable requirements imposed by an employer to ensure that his services are available;
  • an employee must not unreasonably refuse an offer from an employer of suitable alternative work (which need not be work he is under his contract employed to perform) ;
  • an employee will not be entitled to a guaranteed payment if the failure to provide him with work is a result of a strike, lock-out or other industrial action involving any other employee of his employer or of an associated employer.
Payments Under the CIJC Working Rule Agreement

Under the CIJC Working Rule 17.4.1, normal wages should be paid for the day you are notified of the lay off and for the first five working days.

If you work outside of the CJIC Working Rule Agreement, you are entitled, after one month’s employment, to the statutory guaranteed payment of £18.40 (Feb 2005) for each of the first five days to lay-off up to a maximum of £92.00 a week under section 31(1) of the Employment Rights Act 1996.

If the lay-off lasts continuously for 4 weeks, or for any six weeks in a 13 week period, then you can claim redundancy if the employer cannot guarantee a further 13 weeks work which must begin within 4 weeks. You may lose your notice pay when claiming redundancy in this situation.

Contact your UCATT regional office for advice on how to claim redundancy, or if the employer does not pay the required lay-off.