‘The Employment Relationship Is A Crucial Facet Of Any Business, But Often That Relationship Has To Be Terminated. Employees Are Protected From Being Unfairly Dismissed By Statutory Intervention, Yet The Employment Right
...that relationship has to be terminated. Employees are protected from being unfairly dismissed by statutory intervention, yet the Employment Rights Act 1996 provides the employer with many potentially fair reasons to dismiss the employee. It is necessary that the interpretation of these reasons be narrowed and the test of the reasonableness of the employer’s action made more robust if it is to effectively curb the abuse of managerial prerogative.’
With reference to case law and statutory examples, critically assess the above statement.
Employed persons are, split into two essentially different groups. The first group is ‘those employed to perform services in connection with the affairs of the employer and over whom the employer has control in the performance of those services’, and the alternative group are made up of those ‘who do work for another, but who are not controlled by that other in the performance of that work’.
When looking at what an employment relationship is and consists of, it first has to be defined. An ‘employee’ is ‘classed as an employee if you are working under a contract of employment. A contract need not be in writing - it exists when you and your employer agree terms and conditions of employment. It can also be implied from your actions and those of the person you are working for. Your contract will normally set out what you are expected to do. You will usually be expected to do the work yourself - ie you can't send someone else to do your work for you.’ (http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/EmploymentContractsAndConditions/DG_10027916)
The relationship also consists of another party, the Employer. An employer is a ‘A person who operates his or her own economic enterprise, or engages independently in a profession or trade, and hires one or more employees’ (www.unece.org/stats/gender/glossary/s.htm)
The statutory...
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