Do other employess have written contracts of employment? Why did you never get one or ask for one?
Some do. Some don't. There's no standard to this. It's all down to the individual employee's contract of employment and benefits package.What I don't understand is how so many employees in the private sector do get the top-up and others like me don't.
Some employers decide for themselves that this is an important part of their standard benefits package in order to attract and retain key staff.While I certainly don't mean to whinge on about this, I must stress that I would love to know how some employers (in the private sector) decipher to give the top-up and some don't. What really annoys me is that my employer will benefit from my absence as the person replacing me is on a much lower wage.
Some employers decide for themselves that this is an important part of their standard benefits package in order to attract and retain key staff.
That's exactly my point. I really feel that you've hit the point there. It's all about retaining key staff members like myself.
as for retaining key members of staff - i think providing pension contribution to a certain % for all staff would be a better stab at retaining employees than offering mat benefits as they would apply to all
the word pension has never been mentioned to
as for Maternity benefit I know of no one who has ever got a top of payment. everyone I know works in the private sector
We do not get paid time and a half for overtime, time and a quarter. Also we get 25 days holidays a year which is generous in my mind but what has never been clarified is whether or not i have to take the few days that we are closed for Xmas out of this so I have always ended up deducting these days form the 25 days.
I pushed my employer a little and they came back to me quite angry suggesting that I was railroading them into a decision. I also explained to them that the person taking over for me was on a much lower wage so it would probably balance out. I was reprimanded for this.
...my employer was very angry with me over the whole situation and told me that they were very disapopointed in the way I handled my query.
To add insult to injury I was then offered a 'once off' payment of one weeks wages as a settlement gesture.
Basically what I am saying is, if i were to involve a union I think my job would be in serious jeapordy.
Marge, I think you are being far too tolerant/charitable about this. The above reads to me as somewhere between patronising ineptitude and outright harassment/discrimination, and it’s appalling that you should have to endure this kind of stress in your present condition.I suppose I'm just feeling sorry for myself.
[…]
I will say this in their favour however, if I ever need to take an hour off here or there they are very accomodating but then I have to say that this would all balance out because… [etc.]
Also, while we're on the subject of pensions - the word pension has never been mentioned to me by my employer
....A large proportion of larger employers seem to do so too. However smaller employers in the private sector who do pay seem to be in the minority. ...
Eh? That does not seem to tally with the information posted on CitizensInformation.Parental leave is only an entitlement if you take it all together.
Amount of parental leave
Parental leave is available for each child and amounts to a total of 14 weeks per child. Where an employee has more than one child, parental leave is limited to 14 weeks in a 12-month period. This can be longer if the employer agrees. (This restriction does not apply in the case of a multiple birth, such as twins or triplets.)
The 14 weeks per child may be taken in one continuous period or in separate blocks of a minimum of six weeks. If your employer agrees you can separate your leave into periods of days or even hours.
Both parents have an equal separate entitlement to parental leave. Unless you and your partner work for the same employer, you can only claim your own parental leave entitlement (14 weeks per child). If you both work for the same employer and your employer agrees you may transfer your parental leave entitlement to each other.
I forgot to add that I would be wary of doing this, Margie. As things stand, you enjoy various statutory entitlements and legal rights — even though your employers haven't made you aware of them, and are possibly unaware/uninformed themselves (ironically enough). If you now seek to formalise your position by requesting a written contract, they may well try to insert all sorts of new restrictions and conditions, as a sort of bargaining piece. My own employers started this lark a few years ago, so I have recently-appointed colleagues who are contractually bound to/precluded from all sorts of things (for example, their contracts require them to live within a certain distance of the workplace). Terms of employment are not inalienable rights, so don't sign anything away!If I look for a contract of employment at this stage I can foresee what it will contain.
But they can never abrogate your statutory rights no matter what they put in the contract as far as I know.I forgot to add that I would be wary of doing this, Margie. As things stand, you enjoy various statutory entitlements and legal rights — even though your employers haven't made you aware of them, and are possibly unaware/uninformed themselves (ironically enough). If you now seek to formalise your position by requesting a written contract, they may well try to insert all sorts of new restrictions and conditions, as a sort of bargaining piece.
Is that actually legal? What is the supposed penaltu for them failing to continue to meet this condition? I can't imagine that this is enforceable. Unenforceable clauses in contracts are not unusual (e.g. most non-compete clauses are for all intents and purposes unenforceable).for example, their contracts require them to live within a certain distance of the workplace).
Statutory rights are inalienable as far as I know.Terms of employment are not inalienable rights, so don't sign anything away