A to Z of Employment - Entries for W
Wages & Deductions
See Deductions
Wage Slips
As an employee you have the right, each time you are paid, to receive a written statement which specifies your gross amount of wages or salary, the amounts of any fixed or variable deductions and the net amount of wages or salary payable. A pay slip or pay envelope with this information would suffice. If different portions of the net amount are paid in different ways e.g. part in cash and the balance to a bank account, then the amount and method of payment of each part-payment must be specified.
DEL ER Booklet 12 Pay statements: what they must itemise
Warnings
Week’s pay - meaning of
Entitlements to redundancy pay, guarantee pay, some types of compensation awarded by industrial tribunals, pay during notice and during time off for job-hunting or antenatal care are all related to an employee’s ‘week’s pay’, defined as the amount of pay the employee is due per week under his contract of employment. The rules for calculating a week’s pay are set out an erBooklet – Continuous Employment and a Weeks Pay.
DEL ER Booklet 8 - Rules governing continuous employment and a week's pay
Week's Pay - limit on
This is the upper limit used for calculating Statutory Redundancy Pay and awards at tribunal. It is increased annually in line with the retail price index. The current limit is: £330 per week from 2nd March 2008
Whistle blowing legislation
See Public Interest Disclosure/Protected Disclosure
Witness statements
Witness statements are often used during disciplinary/grievance investigations to capture information given by an individual that may be relevant to the investigation and may be used to enable decision making. Often employees giving witness statements wish to remain anonymous, although it is important to remember that such statements may be disclosed as part of an Industrial Tribunal procedure.
Link – Advisory guide – Handling discipline and grievance
Worker – meaning of
The Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 defines a worker as an individual working under a contract of employment or any other contract which is not by definition of a self employed nature. Examples include Agency workers and casual workers, where there may be no enduring employment relationship. Workers generally do not have the right to make a claim for Unfair Dismissal, but do have a number of other employment rights including entitlement to minimum annual leave and pay as provided for in the Working Time Regulations and the National Minimum Wage. It is important to remember that where employment status is in doubt it will ultimately be for a tribunal to determine the correct status.
See also Contracts of Employment and Contract for Service
Workers Registration Scheme.
See Migrant workers
Work permit
An employer who wishes to employ an individual from outside the EU must first obtain a work permit to do so. There are a number of different sets of work permit arrangements and details on these and the application process can be found by accessing the link below.
See also Migrant workers
Working Parents
See Parents
Working Time Regulations
The Working Time regulations provide rights to:
- a limit of an average 48 hours a week on the hours a worker can be required to work, though individuals may choose to work longer
- 4.8 weeks' paid leave a year
- 11 consecutive hours' rest in any 24-hour period (exceptions)
- an in-work rest break if the working day is longer than six hours;
- one day off each week (exceptions)
- a limit on the normal working hours of night workers to an average eight hours in any 24-hour period, and an entitlement for night workers to receive regular health assessments.
The Regulations apply to all workers, including the majority of agency workers and freelancers. There are additional rules for young workers.
DEL - Guide to the Working Time Regulations
Written Statements of Employment Particulars
You are required to give to your employees a written statement of particulars of employment. Every employee regardless of the number of hours worked has to be given this written statement, which sets out the main terms and conditions of their employment. This statement must be given within 2 months of the commencement of employment.
The information to be provided is specified in law and includes, for example, the specification of holidays and notice rights. It is permissible, within the written statement, to refer an employee to alternative documents which contain details of some of the information required, providing such documents are current, accessible, and updated whenever necessary. Alterations in the particulars of the written statement must be individually notified in writing within one month of the change. Note, that the written statement is not the same as a contract of employment; however, it may be a summary of what is contained within the contract
DEL ER Booklet 2 Written statement of employment particulars
Wrongful dismissal
An employee is viewed as having been wrongfully dismissed when their contract of employment has been terminated without notice, either contractual or statutory notice, in circumstances where termination without notice is not justified, for example the dismissal was not for gross misconduct. An employee can take a claim to the Industrial Tribunal on those grounds for damages (compensation for loss) as a result of the wrongful dismissal.
See also Dismissal