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a lot about the detail. In contrast to these more universally relevant rights,the rights where the highest proportion of respondents said they knew hardlyanything about the detail were in the area of children and dependants.An awareness score was developed by giving respondents points for gettingthe answers to awareness questions right and giving those with higher levelsof general awareness more points than those with lower awareness. Analysisshows that it is the groups that might be expected to be vulnerable workersand to have low awareness levels of their rights at work that do in fact havelower awareness. For example, younger workers, those without an HRdepartment, those who do not have managerial/supervisory duties, nonunion/staffassociation members, and those employed in smaller workplaces.Knowledge of specific employment rightsRespondents were asked about their knowledge of rights in the area ofworking time. When asked what the working time limit was, just over aquarter (26 per cent) of respondents accurately cited the actual limit of 48hours. However, the average (mean) number of hours cited by respondentswas 44.54, while the median number was 45.00 hours, both below the actualworking time limit. Forty-three per cent of respondents incorrectly thoughtthat an individual could opt out of the working time limit informally, and onein five respondents incorrectly thought that an employer could make optingout a condition of employment. Two-thirds of respondents (66 per cent) werecorrect in knowing that employees could legally opt out by signing a writtendocument.When asked the minimum number of weeks of paid holiday employees areentitled to, 61 per cent of respondents knew the entitlement was four weeks.Only one-third of respondents (33 per cent) knew that employees wereentitled to two days off in a 14-day period. Fewer than one in tenrespondents (nine per cent) knew that employees had to work more than sixhours before being legally entitled to a rest break.Respondents were asked a range of questions about the NMW. Almost allrespondents (95 per cent) said, correctly, that 22 to 64 year olds have a rightto the NMW; and nearly as many (93 per cent), that workers aged 18 to 21are covered. The large majority (83 per cent) also said that 14 to 15 yearolds do not have minimum wage protection. Knowledge of the NMW positionof 16 and 17 year olds was lower. Just under six in ten (58 per cent) ofrespondents knew that this group is covered by the NMW. In addition, overone-quarter (26 per cent) of survey respondents incorrectly thought thatpeople above the standard retirement age do not have a right to the NMW.One-third (33 per cent) of all respondents indicated that they thought thatthere was a single rate of the NMW that applied regardless of age. For all agegroups where the NMW applies, respondents over-estimated the rate. Theaverage (mean) rate cited was £4.07 for 16 and 17 year olds, where theactual rate was £3; the average rate cited for 18 to 21 year olds was £4.61,considerably higher than the actual rate of £4.10. For 22 to 64 year olds theaverage rate cited was £5.08, with the actual rate being £4.85, while for3
those aged 65 and over the average rate cited was slightly less at £5.03,compared to the actual rate of £4.85.Respondents were also asked some knowledge questions about rights in theareas of children and dependants. Sixty-two per cent of respondents knewthat employees are not entitled to be paid for taking time off for a dependantin an emergency. A similar proportion (63 per cent) knew that a motherwould be entitled to return to exactly the same job after ordinary maternityleave. Seventy-three per cent of respondents knew that a mother wasentitled to return to exactly the same job, or to an equivalent job with thesame rate of pay, after additional maternity leave.When asked when employees’ entitlement to key rights began, over nine inten respondents knew that the right to the NMW covers employees from thefirst day of their employment. Again, over nine in ten respondents (93 percent) knew that the right to be covered by anti-discrimination laws coversemployees from the first day of their employment. In contrast, only six percent of respondents knew that the right to be covered by unfair dismissallaws comes into force after they have been with their employer for one year.Only two per cent of respondents knew that the right to a contract comesinto force after employees have been with their employer for two months.Questions were also asked about the right to be accompanied in disciplinaryand grievance issues, and on taking a case to an employment tribunal. Overnine out of ten respondents (93 per cent) were correct in thinking thatemployees have the right to be accompanied to disciplinary or grievancehearings. However, when asked who could accompany them, only 18 percent got the answer exactly right and knew employees were only entitled totake a trade union officer and a work colleague with them. Just over half ofrespondents (52 per cent) knew that employees only had to put theircomplaint in writing before making a claim (and so did not have to informAcas or appoint a solicitor, or make a claim without doing any of thesethings).A knowledge score was developed by giving respondents one point for eachanswer they got exactly right for some key knowledge questions. Theanalysis suggests that it is the groups that might be expected to be morevulnerable and to have low knowledge levels of their rights at work that do infact have lower knowledge. For example, younger and older workers, parttimeworkers, those without an HR department, those who do not havemanagerial/supervisory duties, and lower earners.Experience of problemsIn all, 42 per cent of respondents had experienced a problem at work in thepast five years. Logistic regression shows that having a long-term healthproblem or disability (compared to not having one) increased the odds ofhaving had a problem, as did being ‘separated/divorced’ compared to being‘single’, being in a ‘sales and customer services’ or ‘professional’ occupation,compared to being in an ‘elementary occupation’, and being a tradeunion/staff association member, compared to not being one. Being ‘aware’ oftheir employment rights compared to ‘not being aware’ decreased the odds of4
Page 5 and 6: AcknowledgementsThis research was c
Page 7 and 8: 4.3 Types of problems experienced 1
Page 9 and 10: List of Tables and ChartsTable 2.1:
Page 12: Figure 5.2: Where respondents would
Page 15: including work and parents, and dis
Page 19 and 20: all respondents (21 per cent) said
Page 21 and 22: • to find out the main sources of
Page 23 and 24: • A variety of telephone help-lin
Page 25 and 26: unaware of what was available to th
Page 27 and 28: which the survey covered. These exe
Page 30 and 31: 1.4 Comparisons with the first benc
Page 32 and 33: 2Awareness ofemployment rightsThis
Page 34 and 35: Figure 2.1: How well informed respo
Page 36 and 37: • being a trade union/staff assoc
Page 38 and 39: Figure 2.2: Whether respondents kno
Page 40 and 41: 2.4 Awareness of employers’ legal
Page 42 and 43: 2.4.1 DiscriminationThe Sex Discrim
Page 44 and 45: minimum number of weeks paid holida
Page 46 and 47: This fairly high awareness may refl
Page 48 and 49: Ordinary maternity leave: 88 per ce
Page 50 and 51: While respondents may be aware of t
Page 52 and 53: dependent children, had children un
Page 54 and 55: It is important to note that rights
Page 56 and 57: Table 2.5: continuedWhether experie
Page 58 and 59: 2.8 Summary2.8.1 How well informed
Page 60 and 61: • 51 per cent of respondents were
Page 62 and 63: 3Knowledge of specificemployment ri
Page 64 and 65: Figure 3.1: Estimate of the weekly
Page 66 and 67:
Table 3.1 shows respondents who got
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Table 3.2: continuedHow well inform
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The median number of weeks cited by
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3.2.4 Days off in a 14-day period a
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Table 3.5: continuedEntitled to 2 d
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Figure 3.4: Which groups are covere
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Table 3.6 shows that:• A small pr
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experienced a problem in relation t
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Table 3.8: continuedWhether member
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Table 3.9 shows that respondents wh
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who had experienced a problem compa
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Table 3.11: continuedWhether experi
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Table 3.12 shows that 62 per cent o
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Respondents were asked about a moth
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3.5.1 At what point employees are l
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Table 3.16: continuedNMW: Anti-disc
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had the right to be accompanied was
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that deals with employment disputes
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3.6 Knowledge scoresPrevious sectio
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Table 3.19: continuedWhether member
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Almost half of respondents (49 per
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• When asked who could accompany
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• the number of hours or days you
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Table 4.1: continuedYes NoUnweighte
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• being older by one year, ie if
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Table 4.2 isolates all those who ha
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Figure 4.2 below lists the areas in
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Table 4.3: Whether advice/informati
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Figure 4.4: Advice or information s
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Consultation with a colleague at wo
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• Of those who found all that the
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• the employer was not willing to
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cent of all respondents, leaving th
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4.8.6 What respondent wishes they h
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Steps taken to resolve the problem
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Sixty per cent of respondents in em
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Figure 4.10: Which problem do you t
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Table 4.9: continuedNumber of emplo
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4.10 Summary4.10.1 Experiencing a p
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problem. Almost two-thirds (63 per
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5Finding information andadviceThis
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When examining where respondents wo
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not trade union/staff association m
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‘And who do you think should be m
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information services were thought t
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Respondents were very evenly divide
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website/the Internet, 14 per cent w
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6Key findings byemployment rightThi
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• 30 per cent knew hardly anythin
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• Only two per cent of respondent
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• Eight per cent of respondents s
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• An ‘awareness deficit’ was
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an employee knew about the detail o
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• An ‘awareness deficit’ was
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• One per cent of respondents sai
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6.4.6 Age discrimination (legislati
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• sex discrimination law• unfai
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7.2 Which groups are most (and leas
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Groups emerge from the bivariate an
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8Appendix 1:Description of sampleIn
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Table A1.2: Family and household ch
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Table A1.4: Characteristics of resp
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Appendix 2: Regressionmethodology a
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qualifications etc.). The co-effici
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Table A2.1: General awareness, clas
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Table A2.2: continuedIndependent va
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department. 48 The following sub-se
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Table A2.5: continuedIndependent va
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Table A2.6: continuedCollinearity s
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8.1.14 Additional variables that we
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Table A2.9: Resolved satisfactorily
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Figure A3.1: Average number of hour
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Female 10 90 564Earnings Under £15
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Figure A3.4: Frequency of on-callEv
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10Appendix 4: List ofacronymsAcasBM
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The DTI EmploymentRelations Researc
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No. 25How employers manage absence.
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