b. Employer obligations

Like any employer, a local council must be seen to act in a fair and reasonable manner in relation to its employees.  There is a whole range of legislation which covers employees of the council and, as an employer, the council needs to understand the implications of employment law and the duties it has to its employees.  Below is a list of some (but not all) important legislation to be aware of:

The Equality Act 2010 legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society.  Fairness in the workplace in a vital part of any successful organisation and the aim of the Equality Act is to  improve equal job opportunities and fairness for employees and job applications.  Council should have policies in place so these outcomes happen.  Under the Act is it unlawful to discriminate against people at work because of nine areas themed in the legislation known as 'protected characteristics'.  

The Employment Act 2008 reformed a wide range of different provisions of UK labour law including dispute resolution, national minimum wage and employment agency standards enforcement, voluntary workers and trade union membership.

The Employment Rights Act 1996 lays down a requirement for an organisation to have a fair disciplinary and grievance procedure and provides the right for an employee to refer an employment dispute related to employment dismissal to an employment tribunal.

Health and Safety at Work Act is a primary piece of legislation covering occupational health and safety and in general sets out the duties which:

• employers have towards employees and members of the public

• employees have to themselves and each other

• certain self-employed have towards themselves and others.

The best way to manage the employer role is to ensure the council has a basic suite of policies and procedures in place.  Visit our template directory using this link and use the "managing people" category to view the list of essential, desirable or good practice policy templates".