You are a paralegal working for a small employment law firm in Reading. One of the supervisors, Mark Holmes, would like you to assist him with three clients he is seeing later on this afternoon.

 

 

Selena Yipley

 

For the past 5 years, Selena has been working at 'Parster gentlemen's club' as a cleaner. Selena's contract with Parster states that:

 

Selena is "self-employed" and not a worker or employee.

 

Selena cannot substitute her performance

 

Selena must work 9am - 5pm Monday to Friday every week

 

Everyone who works at Parster, including Selena, must wear uniform, specifically a T-shirt that states "Men are the better sex". Selena finds the uniform outrageous and is not happy as she receives constant abuse from members of the public due to the T-shirt; Selena's male colleagues do not receive this abuse. Selena accepts that she needs to wear the T-shirt for the job.

 

Selena has recently received some unwanted attention from her male colleagues who pester her for explicit photos of herself. Selena was frustrated by the requests, so she reported it to John, her boss, who told her that "they are just having fun teasing you, don't be a jobsworth".

 

 

Samantha Thomas and Harriet Thomas

 

Samantha (32) is employed at 'ToysRfun' as a store manager. She works dutifully from 7am - 9pm everyday six days a week, as prescribed by her contract. Samantha receives 9 per hour for her work; her boss, Louise, told her that this is the National Living Wage. A few days ago, Samantha went to check her payslip to confirm that she is on the right tax bracket, only to realise that she has never received a pay statement. Samantha has asked her boss for a pay statement, but she refuses to give her one.

 

Samantha's sixteen year old daughter, Harriet, works at the same place, and is paid 4.80 per hour.

Mark would like you to provide a detailed briefing note for him, supported by reference to legislation and case law, as to what the key issues are for Selena, Samantha and Harriet and what the way forward is for them

Identify the relevant legal issues arising from the scenario and apply relevant legislation and case law to produce sound legal advice;

 

Demonstrate the following knowledge and understanding:

 

A breadth of knowledge of the history, regulation and institutions of employment law both from an individual and collective perspective.

 

Demonstrate the following skills and abilities:

 

Apply legal rules to complex factual employment law problems relating to both the recruitment and dismissal of employees.