Employment

Strictly speaking, no; but written terms and conditions must be provided if your job lasts for more than a month.

The terms of your contract can be written or verbal. The difficulty with relying on verbal promises as contractual terms is that they are very much more difficult to prove; it will often be your word against your employer's. This can be particularly difficult if a period of time has passed since your job started and memories have faded, or if the relevant manager who made the verbal promise has left your employer. Therefore, if a verbal promise has been made and you wish to rely on this as a contractual term, it's wise to ask your employer to incorporate it into your contract.

Before agreeing to any written contract of employment it's sensible to ensure that all of the benefits you have been verbally promised are included in the contract.

No, some rights are not included because they are 'statutory' and therefore automatic.

Yes, they can be counted as part of the statutory 24 days' holiday.

Generally, no you don't, as you agreed to your working hours in your contract. However, if your contract or staff handbook says that your hours of work may be changed, then you will have to start an hour earlier.

1. workers don't work more than 48 hours a week;
2. night workers don't work more than eight hours a night and are offered regular health assessments;
3. workers have a rest period of 11 consecutive hours between each working day;
4. workers have an in-work rest break of 20 minutes when working more than six hours;
5. workers have at least four weeks' paid leave each year.

Only in the case of the 48-hour week may individual workers choose to agree to ignore the regulations and work more than 48 hours. If they do, the agreement must be in writing and must allow the worker to bring the agreement to an end.

It's no longer lawful to discriminate on the grounds of age. From 1 October 2006 there is legal protection against age discrimination.

• Aged over 22: £5.52 per hour 
• Aged 18-21: £4.60 per hour
• Aged 16-17: £3.40 per hour

No, if she works and lives as part of your family, she has no right to it.

There is no minimum period.

No, statutory adoption leave is only available to one of you. The other member of the couple, or the partner of the adopter, may be able to take paid paternity leave.

If you have worked continuously for your employer for 26 weeks ending with the 15th week before the baby is due, you can take either one week or two consecutive weeks' paternity leave (not odd days). During this period, your employer is required to pay statutory paternity pay (SPP) at the current rate of £117.18 per week (from 6 April 2008), even if you don't intend to work after the child is born. To be eligible for SPP, you must: be earning an average of at least £90 a week (before tax).

Not always. A woman who is the long-term partner of a child's mother can also qualify.

Subject to certain conditions, both parents can take up to a total of 13 weeks off, unpaid, to look after a child under the age of five. If you have a disabled child under the age of 18, you are also entitled to 18 weeks off.

No, 'race' can also mean ethnic orgin or nationality.

As a first step, contact employment tribunal central enquiries.

Yes, from October 2004 they have applied to all employers.

There are certain procedures that must be followed when an employee has a grievance with the company or an employer wishes to discipline or dimiss an employee and these are called 'statutory dispute resolution procedures'. These are outlined in more detail in Employment Law Made Easy.

Before you can take your grievance to an employment trubunal, you must first take certain steps to try to resolve the situation with your employer by initiating the statutory grievance procedure. If your employer is also unhappy with your actions and is contemplating dismissing you or taking disciplinary action other than giving a warning (e.g. demotion or transferring you to work in a different department) it must follow the standard dismissal and disciplinary procedure.

If your employer dismisses you without following the procedure, it will be automatically unfair and you may get compensation - see 'Compensation for unfair dismissal' for further information.

Yes, three months from the last incident.

A basic award of up to £9,300 plus a compensatory award of up to £60,600, depending on the circumstances.

If you have two years' service, you are entitled to Statutory Redundancy Payment from your employer as a minimum.

When you resign because your employer's conduct fundamentally breaches your contract.

No, you can try conciliation through ACAS or formally agree to compromise.