Working Regulations & Conditions
The Working Tine Regulations of 1998 established a variety of legal provisions impacting the working hours and rest periods of employees. Regulation 12 establishes the right to an uninterrupted break of 20 minutes for a daily work period in excess of six hours. Regulation 10 establishes an entitlement to a daily rest period of 11 consecutive hours for each 24 hours during which the employee works, although there are a host of exceptions to this provision. Regulation 11 establishes the right of adult workers to one day off a week, averaged over a two-week period (National Archives 2012).
There are a variety of provisions, and rights, available to mothers, fathers, and adult caretakers that impact the terms and conditions of an employee's employment. Using women as an example, it is clear that there are many provisions intended to protect, and enhance, the employment conditions and opportunities of working mothers, or mothers-to-be. These fall under the heading of "Parental Rights at Work." Most of the provisions are applicable to women, including the following:
- The Rights of Working Parents: an umbrella provision that establishes the right to paid and unpaid maternity leave; paid paternity leave; paid and unpaid adoption leave; the right to request flexible working hours; unpaid parental leave if your child is under the age of five (18 if the child is disabled);...
This right requires that the workplace be assessed for risks specific to pregnant or breastfeeding women, or those who have given birth within the past six months and, should risks be identified, that provisions be made to protect the health and safety of these employees. If such provisions are impossible, the employee must be offered another position at the same pay rate, or be suspended on medical grounds with full pay (Citizens Advice Bureau 2012).
- Adoption Leave: a woman who has been matched with a child for adoption or who has had a child placed with them are entitled to adoption leave, provided that she has worked for her current employer for a minimum of 26 weeks at the time of notification of an adoption match (Citizens Advice Bureau 2012).
3. Pay fairness, or equity, is important for a variety of reasons, and not only to the individuals, and their families, most directly impacted. One…
