Equality Legislation in the Labour Market Essay

Equality Legislation in the Labour Market - Essay Example We know that Equality Legislation plays a vital role for the success of any organization. We need equality in the labour market due to the advantages it provides to the employee as well as the organization on the whole. We would look at few of the General Equality Legislation that exists in Scotland and see as to how it benefits the organizations. As from 6th April 2003, subject to regulations, parents and others (such as guardians) who are responsible for looking after children aged under 6 (or under 18 if the child is disabled) have the legal right to ensure that requests they make for flexible working arrangements (such as part-time work or work at home) are taken seriously by their employers. The request must be to enable the employee to care for the child and an important condition is that the employee must have been employed in his job for at least 6 months to be eligible. (See source 2 for the knowing the source of this legislation.) These regulations introduced new rights for part-time workers. Two amendments came into force on 1st October 2002. These cover Comparators (Regulation 2) and Access to Occupational Pension Schemes (Regulation 8(8). The part-time workers regulations ensure that Britain's part-timers are not treated less favorably than comparable full-timers in their terms and conditions, unless it is specifically justified. This means that part-timers are entitled, for example, to: There is no neeThe same hourly rate of pay The same access to company pension schemes The same entitlements to annual leave and maternity / parental leave on a pro rata basis, The same entitlement to contractual sick pay, and No less favorable treatment in access to training (See source 2 for knowing the source of this legislation) Advantages of partime workers Effective labour tool for managing costs In the last decade the industry has expanded to offer employees for office, industrial, technical, medical, and engineering fields. There is no need for extra fringe benefits as in January of 1985 Federal civil service regulations were changed to permit the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to hire temporary workers for up to 4 years without providing fringe benefits. Part-time employees can be an excellent staffing option for small or young businesses, due to the potential for flexibility and the relatively low cost. Part-time workers necessarily work fewer hours, so will cost less in wages. In addition, part-time employees typically do not qualify for company-sponsored benefits. Sample Equality Legislation 3: Equal Treatment