Law, Your Rights and Citizenship

At what age can I…?

To find out what the law states about what you are and are not legally allowed to do between the ages of 13-19, visit www.connexions-direct.com

Working part-time

You can usually work part-time when you are 13-14.  However, restrictions apply and there is a law of employment for young people up to the end of Year 11 – stating the hours and days you are allowed to work.

• To find out more, contact your local education authority – www.surreycc.gov.uk
• Ask your Connexions Personal Adviser

Work rights

You have an obligation to your employer to:

• work to the best of your ability
• respect company rules and the law

Your employer has an obligation to you to:

• provide a safe environment
• not ask you to break the law
• pay the wages/salary agreed
• provide you with written terms and conditions of your job within two months of starting

Keep all paperwork relating to work – e.g. contract, job offer, agreed pay, payslips and all letters – you will need these in case of any dispute.

• If you think you are being treated unfairly, contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau for advice (visit www.adviceguide.org.uk to find your nearest centre) or talk to your Connexions Personal Adviser
• Visit www.legalservices.gov.uk for more information on your legal rights when you are at work, including what your employer must (and must not) do for you, and how they should behave towards you.

Consumer rights

As a buyer, you have the following rights:

• The product should match its description and do as it claims
• To return a faulty/damaged item and ask for a refund/repair/credit note you will need to prove you bought the item there, so keep the receipt.

It is your responsibility to:

• Check the goods match their description before you buy
• Use the goods for their proper purpose

Retailers must:

• Be honest about the product’s features/uses
• Sell goods that match their description and do as they claim
• Not sell you damaged goods without telling you of the fault first

Guarantees:

• Gives you further protection on top of your basic rights
• Before you claim against the manufacturers guarantee, check that you won’t be charged for repairs – if so, then it may be better to claim against the retailer instead.
  
• To find out more about your consumer rights visit www.legalservices.gov.uk

Legal rights

• If you’re suspected of a crime, police action may involve:
• Stopping and searching – you may be stopped if police have a good reason, but if they want to search you it must be done in private, and by an officer of the same sex if you are required to remove than your coat
• Going to the police station – if you’re under arrest you must go but if you are asked to go voluntarily then you don’t have to
• Confiscation of personal belongings – these may only be taken from you in front of a witness and must be bagged and tagged in your presence
• Keeping you at the station – up to 24 hours without charge.  You have the right to:
  - tell someone you’re being held
  - free legal advice
  - say nothing
  - be accompanied by an adult if you’re under 17
  
• www.surreycc.gov.uk/youth
• www.legalservices.gov.uk
• www.communitylegaladvice.org.uk
• www.yourrights.org.uk
• For general advice on the law and crime visit www.rizer.co.uk

Discrimination

It is illegal to take prejudiced action against people on any grounds.

Racial discrimination

Racial discrimination can be described as treating people less favourably because of their skin colour, nationality, religion or culture:

• direct racism is aimed at someone personally
• indirect racism is through writing about people’s race, nationality etc
• institutional racism is when large groups or bodies take a discriminatory view and/or don’t act against racism
• For advice and help, contact the Commission for Racial Equality on 020 7828 7022, your Citizens Advice Bureau or your Connexions Personal Adviser
• Visit www.britkid.org for information about different cultures in Britain and the dangers of racism in the UK

Sex discrimination

Direct discrimination is when someone is discriminated against because of their sex or marital status.  Indirect discrimination is when people are excluded subtly (e.g. by a requirement that can only be met by the majority of men or women – such as height; having no family responsibility)

Discrimination at work is dealt with by an employment tribunal.

For advice and help, contact the Equal Opportunities Commission on 0845 601 5901, the Citizens Advice Bureau or your Connexions Personal Adviser

Disability discrimination

The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 relates to service providers.  It means they must:

• Not refuse entry/service to a disabled person
• Not treat a disabled person worse than an able-bodied person
• Not deny a disabled person a service available to an able-bodied person
• Make reasonable changes to their service and provide reasonable extra help so a disabled person can use their service

For help contact:

• Disability Rights Commission 0845 762 2633
• Disability Law Service 020 7791 9800
• www.disabilityalliance.org
• Your Connexions Personal Adviser

Visit our Law pages for more info.
Visit our Equal Opportunities pages for more info on discrimination. 

Need advice now?

Search for your local Connexions Centre at www.go2do.co.uk Don’t forget you can also call Connexions Direct on 080 800 13 2 19 (lines open 8am – 2am, seven days a week), text 07766 4 13 2 19, or click here for a webchat with a Personal Adviser or visit www.connexions-direct.com for more info.