A guidance leaflet to show the main individual rights and needs an employee has during employment, in order to assist in creating a good working relationship and upon termination of the employment, a look at issues to address.

The impact of employment law at the start of the employment relationship

The internal and external factors that impact on the employment relationship are as follows:

Internal

1. Collective Agreement.
Collective agreements are negotiated between an employer and a trade union over matters such as:

• how negotiations will be organised
• who will represent employees
• which employees are covered by the agreement
• which terms and conditions the agreement will cover

These can only be altered if both parties consent and usually apply in unionised workplaces where an agreement has been reached about pay or terms and conditions.

2. Works Rules.
Many organisations have a set of rules governing the way in which they require employees to act e.g. not smoking on the site. These rules vary amongst organisations and can differ depending on industry and the needs of the business, the size of the organisation may also play a part in how stringent the rules can be.
These rules are unilaterally determined by the employer and can be lawfully changed by management at any time. A refusal to adhere to the revised rules amounts to a breach of contract i.e. failure to obey lawful and reasonable instructions.

External
1. Statute.
Statutory rights are legal requirements. All employees, regardless of the number of hours per week they work, have certain legal rights, for example:

• the right to a written statement of terms of employment within two months of starting work
• the right to be paid at least the national minimum wage
• the right to a paid holiday
• the right to Maternity/Paternity/Adoption leave

2. ACAS Code of