Question 1

Which of the following statements about family friendly employment law is the most accurate?&#10;A) Pregnant women have a right to take reasonable time off work to attend ante-natal clinics&#10;B) There has been a reduction in family-friendly rights over recent years&#10;C) Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is equivalent to the average salary in the UK&#10;D) Parents of adopted children have many fewer rights than parents who bring up their own offspring

Accepted Answer

Pregnant women do have a legal right to take reasonable time off work to attend ante-natal clinics under family friendly employment law. Option B is incorrect because there has been an increase in family-friendly rights over recent years, such as the introduction of statutory shared parental leave. Option C is incorrect as SMP is only a fraction of the average UK salary. Option D is incorrect as parents of adopted children have the same family-friendly employment rights as biological parents.

Question 2

What is being described here? A situation in which an employee's dismissal breaches statute (i.e. an Act of Parliament).&#10;A) Wrongful dismissal&#10;B) Unjust dismissal&#10;C) Unfair dismissal&#10;D) Constructive dismissal

Accepted Answer

Unfair dismissal refers to a situation where the employer terminates the employment of an employee without following the procedures set out in legislation, and this is in breach of an Act of Parliament.

Question 3

Which of the following reasons for dismissal is defined as 'potentially fair' by employment tribunals?&#10;A) Ill health&#10;B) Pregnancy&#10;C) Trade union membership&#10;D) Disability

Accepted Answer

Ill health is considered a potentially fair reason for dismissal if an employee is unable to perform their job duties over a long period. This is in contrast to dismissal due to pregnancy, trade union membership, or disability, which are generally considered automatically unfair reasons for dismissal.

Question 4

What is being described here? The situation that occurs when an employer sets a 'requirement or condition' which has the effect of disadvantaging a significantly larger proportion of one sex than the other.

A) Victimisation
B) Direct discrimination
C) Positive discrimination
D) Indirect discrimination

Accepted Answer

This is the definition of indirect discrimination, where a seemingly-neutral requirement or condition has the effect of disadvantaging a particular group, in this case one sex over the other.

Question 5

In which of the following jobs might sex discrimination be permitted on grounds of an occupational requirement?&#10;A) Waiter/waitress&#10;B) Doctor&#10;C) Hairdresser&#10;D) Model

Accepted Answer

In the case of models, sex discrimination may be permitted on the basis of occupational requirements, i.e. if a fashion designer requires a male or female model to showcase their designs in a particular way. However, sex discrimination is not allowed in the other jobs listed, as they do not have a genuine occupational requirement based on sex.

Deck 18: The Legal Framework of Work