Employment and equality act Custom Paper

?Seaview? is a care home for the elderly in Margate, Kent. It looks after 100 residents. The Human Resources ("HR") manager is Amrita Patel. She is new to the Home and seeks your advice on the employment status of a number of the carers. She wishes in due course to re-structure staffing levels but before doing so she wishes to understand the relative rights of each worker and the likelihood of any Employment Tribunal litigation arising from any dismissal. There are three workers who are presently causing Amrita some concern:

1. ​Rupert: He has worked at Seaview for six years. At the commencement of his work he signed a letter drafted by the HR manager stating that he was self-employed. The letter states that he can send in a substitute worker in his place for any of his shifts. He has never actually done this, having heard from another member of staff that they would need to take up references for any substitute to comply with Care Quality Commission statutory requirements. He works the night shift as a senior carer with responsibility for three staff. He has always worked this shift. He accounts directly to the Inland Revenue in respect of both his income tax and national Insurance. His rate of pay is slightly higher than other senior carers to allow for the fact that he does not receive holiday pay. However, he has recently been claiming to be an employee of Seaview, particularly now that he has heard the rumours of possible staff re-structuring.

2. ​Tahira: She has worked at Seaview for three years. She was initially supplied to Seaview by the Margate Nursing Agency Ltd. Tahira is a qualified nurse and is responsible for the management and running of the specialist dementia unit. She has responsibility for a team of 25 nurses and carers, having been promoted after 18 months of working on the unit. She submits weekly timesheets to HR which are, in turn, sent over to the agency who issue a cheque to Tahira after making the statutory deductions in respect of income tax and national insurance. Tahira regards herself as "part of the furniture" and was recently overheard informing one of her colleagues that she would like to work at Seaview until retirement.

3. ​Sheena: She has been working on and off at Seaview as a "bank carer" for four years. The previous HR manager issued her with a "zero hours" contract of employment as he felt unable to commit to regularly requiring her services, given that Seaview were reasonably well covered for carers at that particular time. Under the arrangement, Seaview do not pay her in respect of any given day when she has not been called in to work. Sheena has however proved herself to be diligent, trustworthy and reliable. Indeed, it has been quite some time since she did not attend for work as her services are habitually required. On one occasion when Sheena recently wanted a day off to go shopping she was informed that if she wanted regular work she should turn up as she was needed. Sheena has informed Amrita that she regards the "bank" arrangement as "a bit of a con".

Advise Amrita in respect of each of the above cases.

Note: Students are not required to advise on the Equality Act 2010 when answering this question.

The second question
B) Elspeth is a member of a Christian ‘sect’ who believe that the Sabbath must be strictly observed as a day of rest. Elspeth has worked as a care assistant in a privately run residential home for disabled children for the past 18 months during which time she has had an informal arrangement with her manager who has allowed her to organise her shifts in a way that permits her to take every Sunday as a rest day.

Elspeth has been called into a meeting with her manager in which she has been informed that the owners of the residential establishment have reluctantly taken the decision to reduce staffing at the home due to financial problems. Elspeth will not be affected by the redundancies as she is directly employed and the staffing cut will be met by reducing the hours of agency staff. However there will consequently be much less flexibility in organising shift rotas and in order to maintain a safe and good quality service to the establishment’s residents everyone’s shifts will be set in a regular pattern from now on. Given the new staffing arrangements this will mean that Elspeth is required to work one Sunday in every three.

Elspeth objects that she has always been allowed to take Sunday as a rest day and that her faith will not allow her to change this arrangement. Elspeth’s line manager informs her that that was never more than a personal and informal agreement between them and it was always understood that it could change with changed circumstances.

Elspeth has discussed the change with her pastor who has advised her that there can be no departure from the strict observance of the Sabbath. Elspeth feels she is being forced out of her job.

Advise Elspeth of what rights, if any, she may have under the Equality Act 2010. Support your answer with reference to statute and case law.

Please please use cases and statute from equality act 2010

Books to use
Blackstones: Statutes on Employment Law 2012-2013

Painter & Holmes: (9th Ed) Cases & Materials on Employment Law ?

Selwyn: Law of Employment (17th Ed) ?
Please answer the both question separately