Rights and Responsibilities

JobShop guide to part time and vacation employment rights and responsibilities.

It is your responsibility to ensure that you receive a contract of employment which clearly states your duties, working hours and pay. Some employers (particularly those offering temporary jobs) do not consider it worthwhile to issue a contract of employment to employees. Whether a job is temporary or not, ask the employer to provide you with a written contract of employment that clearly states the duties, hours to be worked, the pay and employment start and end dates (if applicable).

The rights and duties of both employers and employees should be detailed in a contract of employment. The law states that ‘Express terms’ must be put in writing and given to the employee as a written statement of particulars within eight weeks of starting work. ‘Express terms’ include pay, hours and holidays.

Ask the employer how regularly pay is going to be made and what method of payment is to be used. It is your responsibility to agree a payment method with the employer. Most employers will pay directly into a specified bank or building society account. Pay is usually paid on a monthly basis for salaried employees and is usually paid weekly for hourly rate work. Whatever the frequency of payment, it must be specified in a written statement of particulars, which should be given to employees within eight weeks of starting work. Any variation in the frequency of payment should be notified to the employee within one month of the change.

It is important that you ensure that a system is in place to record your working hours. Examples: A sign-in or clock-in and out system or use of timesheets to record working hours.

Ask the employer about this if a system for recording working hours is not made clear to you.

We promote part-time job vacancies available during term-time usually no more than 16 hours per week. If you are a full-time student, we recommend that you do not work more than 16 hours per week during term-time. Check that the hours and days to be worked fit around your course timetable commitments, own study time and social life.

Full-time and part-time vacancies are promoted over the Christmas, Easter and summer vacation periods.

Current job vacancies can be viewed online as well as on vacancy notice boards in the Careers Centre, (Cadman in Stoke, Beacon in Stafford).

Register online (see Access Jobs Online in the related links menu to the left) to get access to the latest part-time, vacation-period and placement vacancies online. After you have registered / logged in you will be able to "save a search" to specify the types of jobs or placements you are looking for and then you will receive details of relevant vacancies by email.

If you are thinking about using a website or a recruitment agency which offers to match you to an employer or give employers access to your personal details (eg your name and address on your CV), make sure that you read the “terms and conditions” carefully before giving your personal details. If you give your personal details to a website, recruitment agency or a potential employer, make sure that you are satisfied that your personal details will be used appropriately and make sure you understand what you can do if your details are used inappropriately. Identity fraud and misuse of personal details are serious issues, do not give your personal details (eg on a CV) unless you are satisfied that these details will be stored securely and used appropriately.

Do not give your bank / building society account details or your credit / debit card details to potential employers, for example on an application form, on your CV, in an interview, over the telephone or in a letter or email. Do not disclose your financial details to an employer until you have been appointed as a member of staff and you are satisfied that your financial details will be stored securely and used only to pay your salary. If you are unsure, ask your employer how your financial details will be stored and used.

If you don’t know something about the vacancy, ask the employer. If you are concerned that the vacancy is unsuitable please let us know about it. Your feedback is important to us.

All information about part-time and vacation period vacancies is based on information provided by employers which is received in good faith. We assess each employer and their vacancies to check that they are genuine and suitable. Please ensure that vacancy information is correct before accepting an offer of employment. We make efforts to ensure that information displayed in vacancies is true and correct at the time of advertising and is as accurate as possible. We do not promote vacancies that are commission-only. All vacancies pay at least the national minimum wage. Many vacancies offer pay well above this.

The National Association of Student Employment Services (www.nases.org.uk/students) which has a link to other University Jobshops - useful if you want to work outside Staffordshire in the holidays.

The National Council for Work Experience (www.work-experience.org/ncwe.rd/index.jsp)
Lots of information on the benefits of developing employment skills and an online vacancy search facility.

H.M. Revenue & Customs (www.hmrc.gov.uk/students/)
This government run site contains lots of information about the minimum wage, self-employment, loans, paying tax and related information.

Directgov (www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/index.htm)
Lots of information about employment, money, tax, health and well-being and much more.