UK Employment Law for Security Staff: A Practical Overview

Introduction

Treatment of employees has come under increasing scrutiny over recent decades. Legislation has been passed to help facilitate effective regulation of the business and work environment. The areas covered by legislation include employment contracts, work-related regulations (such as rest breaks and working conditions), minimum wage rates, unlawful and unfair dismissal, and discrimination or harassment on the grounds of gender, sexual preference, race, religious beliefs, disability, and, more recently, age. Legislation of this nature must be a major concern for employers — not only to follow, but to implement actively. Failure to comply with legislation can lead to substantial financial penalties associated with compensation awards and legal fees.

Infringement of employees' rights may also lead to a poor public image for a company or organisation. As most businesses recognise, maintaining a positive public image supports customer loyalty as well as higher profits and funding. Receiving adverse publicity from poor employer behaviour could devastate and bankrupt an otherwise successful organisation. The purpose of this bulletin is to provide an overview of the main legislation and the core requirements that employers should be aware of and must follow.

This overview also discusses the mechanics of enforcing employment law. It provides a basic summary of the legislation passed, as well as the regulation of industrial and trade disputes. The objectives are to describe the laws governing security staff during an industrial or trade dispute, and to outline the responsibility of relevant parties to preserve peace and adhere to the law in connection with such disputes.

Security staff must not become involved in any disputes that go beyond their job duties. However, security staff must be aware of any directions that management give in connection with access by strikers or their union representatives to company or organisational premises. Security staff should be educated and routinely familiar with the following:

Legislation Governing Industrial Disputes

In most industrial disputes, the duties of security staff are to protect company premises from unlawful intrusion and to prevent disruption between the parties involved. The main statutes in connection with industrial and trade dispute law are the Trade Unions and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 and the Trade Union Reforms and Employment Rights Act 1996. Additional legal provisions concerning miscellaneous responsibilities and the consequences of industrial or trade disputes are found in the following statutes:

Note: common law may have an additional effect upon such disputes.

Disputes, Dismissals, and Workplace Regulations

Legislation defines industrial or trade disputes as a dispute between two parties — workers and their employer — in relation to one or more of the following matters:

In brief, a trade or industrial dispute between the workforce and management may relate to: terms and conditions of employment; physical safety of workers; membership of a trade union; expectations regarding job duties; disciplinary actions; and machinery maintenance, repair, or evaluation for negotiation or consultation in accordance with workers' rights.

Basic principles concerning key behaviour must always be followed when handling dismissals:

Employers may still be subject to a legal claim for unfair dismissal regardless of whether or not company procedures were followed. However, following proper procedure will place any case brought against the employer in a more favourable position.

The Minimum Wage Act 1998 established a universal minimum wage, with the exception of the self-employed, volunteers, and workers under the age of eighteen. Workers have the right to compensation equal to or higher than a minimum figure set by the Secretary of State following a recommendation from the Low Pay Commission. The minimum wage applies universally throughout the country without any regional variation. This Act applies to all areas of industry, all occupations, and organisations of every size. There is no qualifying period before the minimum wage applies. Employers must maintain records containing the payment history of workers and allow workers access to those records. A worker has the right to enforce minimum wage entitlement by taking their case to an employment tribunal or a county court.

The Working Time Regulations 1998 were introduced to implement the European Commission Working Time Directive (93/104/EC). Amendments were made in 1999 and 2003 to include all non-mobile transport workers in the sea, inland waterways, and fishing sectors; workers in the railway and offshore sectors; and workers in the aviation industry not covered by the Aviation Directive (2000/79/EC). From 2004 onward, the regulations also applied to junior doctors.

Conclusion

Treatment of employees has come under increasing scrutiny, and the legislation reviewed in this bulletin reflects the breadth of employer obligations now in force. Failure to comply carries significant legal and reputational consequences for any organisation. Employers and security staff alike must remain current with the relevant statutes — covering trade disputes, minimum wage, working time, dismissal procedures, and discrimination — to ensure that both the rights of workers and the interests of the organisation are properly protected.