The term ‘employment law’ refers to any piece of government legislation designed to protect employees from exploitation. In the UK, there are four areas of employment legislation that form the basis of employee rights in the workplace:

Recruitment, pay, discrimination and health and safety

• recruitment – this legislation outlines what employers can and cannot do when recruiting staff, and what their responsibilities are once a job offer has been made
• pay – this legislation covers pay and is designed to ensure that the pay workers receive is above a set minimum level
• discrimination – this area of employment law is designed to ensure that employers treat all people fairly
• health and safety – legislation around health and safety is designed to keep employees safe while they are at work