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Racial Discrimination
Exercise 1.Read the text and answer the following questions:
1. What does the Race Relations Act 1976 provide?
2. What is more likely to occur direct or indirect discrimination?
3. What does racial grounds include?
4. What is the difference between an ethnic group and a race?
5. Where may individuals bring an action to in case of racial discrimination?
6. What are the powers of the tribunal?
The Race Relations Act 1976 provides that discrimination on racial grounds is unlawful. As direct evidence of discrimination on racial grounds is unlikely to be available, the basic rule is that if on the facts there appears to have been discrimination, it is for the employer to disprove it. If the employer cannot do so, the complainant will be successful.
Racial discrimination may be direct or indirect. Indirect discrimination is more likely to occur than direct discrimination.
Racial grounds include reason of race, colour, citizenship, nationality or ethnic group. An ethnic group is wider than a race, and is based on a long shared history, cultural tradition, language and literature, and the term «ethnic group» often includes a religion.
The act prohibits discriminatory practices, advertisements and attempts to induce others to discriminate. Employers may be liable for the discriminatory acts of their employees unless they can show that they took reasonable steps to prevent discriminatory activity.
Individuals may bring an action in an industrial tribunal within three months of the alleged act of discrimination. There is no requirement that the individual must have worked for an employer for 12 months before making a claim. The powers of the tribunal are similar to those in sex discrimination cases, the maximum compensation payable being / 8000, and declarations of rights also being available. The defence of genuine occupational qualification applies, as in sex discrimination actions but the occupational qualifications on racial grounds are more restrictive. They are:
a) jobs involving entertainment which require people of a certain race for authenticity;
b) jobs involving modelling for art and photography;
c) jobs in restaurants which require people of a certain race;
d) jobs requiring people of a certain race to train or take care of people of the same race.
Exercise 2. Give the English equivalents for the following:
– истец;
– расовая дискриминация;
– гражданство;
– этническая группа;
– реклама;
– возбуждать иск.
Text 4
Ending Employment
Exercise 1.Read the text and answer the following questions:
1. How can an employer end the employment contract?
2. What is the statutory length of notice?
3. When are wages of notice must be paid.
4. Must an employer always give notice to an employee or pay wages of notice?
5. Where can the employee sue the employer for wrongful dismissal?
6. Must employees, who wish to leave a job give notice to their employer?
An employer can end the employment contract by giving proper notice. The amount of notice that is necessary depends on the length of the employment (Employment Protection Act 1978). If the person has worked for less than one month, no notice is required.
If the employment lasted between 2 and 12 years, one week's notice is required for each year of employment, if the employee has worked for more than 12 years, 12 weeks notice is necessary. These are the statutory lengths of notice which operate if there is no statement of particulars which specifies the notice required. However there is usually a written statement of particulars which details the notice necessary for the employee.
If the employer wishes an employee to leave without notice, wages of notice must be paid.
There are only two circumstances when an employer does not need to give notice to an employee or to pay wages of notice:
· when the employee can be dismissed summarily (i.e. with no notice) for gross misconduct, such as violent behaviour at work, theft at work or some other conduct which goes to root of the employment contract and destroys it;
· when the employee cannot continue and the employment contract is «frustrated», for example because the employee has been sent to prison or has lost a skill or became terminally ill. Instances of frustrated contracts of employment are rarely found as the court is reluctant to find that contracts have ended in such a way. If a contract of employment is frustrated, the employee has no right to notice and cannot bring an action for dismissal.
If no proper notice is given, the employee can sue the employer for wrongful dismissal, usually in a county court and can claim wages due during the period for which notice should have been given.
If the employee requests reasons for the dismissal, these must be given within 14 days, or the employee can complain to an industrial tribunal, which has power to order the employer to pay compensation amounting to two weeks' wages. This does not apply to part-time workers.
Employees, who wish to leave a job must give notice to their employer. Failure to do so according to the terms of the employment contract would amount to breach of contract and the employer could sue for damages.
However, if the contract was a fixed term there is no need for either party to give notice when the term ends.
Exercise 2. Give the English equivalents for the following:
– служащий;
– соответствующее уведомление;
– длиться;
– требовать;
– обстоятельства;
– увольнять;
– грубое нарушение контракта;
– преследовать в судебном порядке;
– выплачивать компенсацию;
– сторона.