Tapescripts

UNIT I. EMPLOYMENT LAW.

Listening 1: BBC Learning English. Ask about English work and job.

Gareth Rees has a BA (hons) in History and Philosophy of Science, CTEFLA, and DELTA. He has taught EFL, EAP and Business English in China, Spain and England, and he is the co-author of the Language Leader Elementary and Pre-Intermediate English language course books (Pearson Longman). He currently teaches English in the Language Centre at the University of the Arts, London.

A question from Giuliana in Italy:

What is the difference between work and job? They both have the same meaning in Italian but I'd like to know better how to use them.

Gareth Rees answers:

Hello Giuliana.

Thank you for your question about the difference between work and job. Although this topic isn't necessarily most people's favourite subject, the difference between the two words is important.

Firstly, on a grammatical level, work is both a verb and a noun, whereas job is only a noun. Let's look at their meanings now.

Work is an activity in which you use effort or energy, normally to achieve a particular aim or task, rather than for fun or enjoyment. It is essentially the opposite of play, and to work means to do such an activity. Generally, we work in order to earn money, and this is often how we use the verb; to describe what we do to earn money. For example:

I work for the BBC. David works in a cafe.

In these examples, we do not know exactly what the person's duties or responsibilities are. David works in a cafe, but we do not know if he cleans the tables or cooks the food.

So, in this sense, work has a very general meaning, whereas job is much more specific, and its most common meaning is the name for the work that you do to earn money. For example,

David has now got a new job. He is a cook in a small restaurant.

In this example, we now know exactly what David does because we know what his job is. To summarise, we can say that the word job refers to a particular employment role or position, such as cook, teacher or banker, whereas work refers in a more general way to activities that you do.

Interestingly, all jobs involve work but doing work isn't always part of a job. For example, someone can spend the weekend working in their garden, perhaps cutting the grass or planting new flowers. However, this is a free time activity, and so it is not his or her job.

As a verb, work does have other meanings, such as, if you describe how a machine works, you explain how it functions, or operates. For example,

Can someone show me how the photocopier works? I don't know how to use it.

Similarly, you can use it to say if the machine is functioning correctly. For example,

Don't try to use that computer. It doesn't work. We are waiting for the engineer to fix it.

Finally, although your job is the name for what you do to earn money, it can also refer to a specific task that you have to do; a task that requires work and a task that you can specifically identify. For example,

I have a few jobs to do at home this weekend. I need to paint my bedroom, fix a broken door and cut the grass.

Right, well, I've been working hard for the last few hours, so I think, it's time for me to take a break. Fortunately, the work that I do in my job is very interesting, so even though it is hard work, I don't think I will look for another job! What about you, Giuliana? Are you a student or do you have a job? Whatever you do, is it hard work?

Listening 2. Different types of employment

Hi, my name is Mr. Hill. I'm here today to tell about types of employment. You know a person can have two types of employment: employee and self-employer. We have to distinguish between these two and the simple way to do it is doing the control test. The controlled test will determine the degree of authority you have upon your working time. Ask yourself - Am I the one who sets my working time? Do I choose when and where I will work? If the answer to these questions are – no, you are an employee and if the answers are – yes, you are self- employer. Another test capable to identify the differences is the economic reality test. Ask yourself the folowing questions: Do I have financial risks? Is your salary very according to the amount of job you do within a certain period of time? Can your salary be zero if business goes wrong? If the answer is – yes, you are a self-employer. Do you work using your own tools or someone else provides it to you? If someone else provides the tools you are an employee. The case of Walker vs. Crystal Palace football club judged in 1966 is an example of the control test. Judges decided that a professional footballer was an employee of his club on the basis that he was subject to control in a relation to his training. Discipline method of payment - the decision is very clear. Footballers have to follow to the letter instructions given by the coach. The case of Whittaker vs. Minister of Pensions and National Insurance 1966 is an example of the integration test. Judges decided that the trapeze artist was an employee of the circus because she was engaged not only with trapeze but with other general areas of the circus. The fact she has done more than a self-employed trapeze would do, indicated that she was an employee rather than a self-employed. The case of O’Kelly vs. Trusthouse Forte PLC judged in 1983 is a perfect example of temporary work. This case is about a wine waiter who was called a regular casual because he was given work when it was required. The waiter had no other employment. As he worked there for so long it was accepted by the management he would be often working in preference to others when work was available and he could accept it or not. Although he was provided with uniform and tools, his contract was clear that he would be offered to work when there was job available and it would be up to him to accept it or not. Judges decided that he was a self-employer because neither he nor the Trusthouse had mutuality obligation between them. To finalize let's take some of the advantages of being an employee rather than a self-employed person. The first one is statutory protection which protects employee against unfair dismissal and redundancy. The second one is if the financial risk where if business goes wrong and the employer goes bankrupt employees are the first one to receive any payment from the insolvent company. The employees are always preferential creditors. The third would be benefits. Employees are the only ones entitled to receive statutory sick payment. Our talk about types of employment finishes here after I have told you about the differences between employees and self-employer. I also told you about the tests which you can do to find out if you are an employee or self employer. The last topic was the advantages of being an employee. I hope you liked it.

Listening 3. Listen to the lecture on the contract of employment and answer the following questions.

Hello, I am mister Help from Evideo lesson dot com. Today we are here to talk about contract of employment and the consistence of it. Contract of employment consists of three terms: expressed terms, terms implied by the court and the terms implied by statute. Let’s start talking about the expressed terms. The first term is the expressed term which is the agreement between the employer and the employee. In other words, it is when you receive a job offer, it can be made oral or written, although the contract is valid as soon as both parties agree with it. The employer must provide to the employee her written contract within two months of the commencement of employment. Employment Rights Act 1996 requires that employer must include into the contract details like wages and when it is paid, your job title, your hours of work, place of work, length of notice, details of disciplinary or grievance procedures, date of your commencement of employment. If the employer wants to change the contract he needs to notify the employee by written statement within one month. The statement made by the employer will become a contract when the employee agrees with it. The second term is the implied term which states the duties of the employee, the duties of the employer. We talked about these duties in other videos so please visit Evideo lesson dot com to watch them. The third and last term is the terms implied by the statute. These are statutes which protect the employees and give them some rights. Let's talk about some of them. The Employment Rights Act 1996 gives the employees the right of not being unfairly dismissed, the right to receive damage ever made redundant and the right to a minimum period of notice to terminate the contract. The Working Time Regulations Act 1998 limits the hour of work to an average of 48 hours per week, gives the right to the employees to have 4 weeks paid leave and one day off per week. The Employment Act 2002 gives the right of paternity leave, adoption leave and also it gives the parents of children under 17 or disabled children under 18 the right to request flexible working hours. The Equal Pay Act 1970 gives the right of equal payment between employees of the opposite sex. The National Minimum Wage Act 1998 imposes minimum levels of wages. We finish here our explanation about the contract of employment and if you haven't watched the other videos about the duties of the employer and employee please visit our website or visit youtube channel to watch it.

Listening 4. Listen to the discussion on the duties of an employee and make a list of such duties.

-Hi, I am Mr. Randy. I am a member of Evideo lesson.

-Hi, I'm Vicky. I am also a member of Evideo lesson.

-We are here today to talk about the duties of the employee.

-Is this an area covered by an employment law which belongs to corporate and financial law?

-It is indeed. As you know not only employers have duties on the employment but also the employees as well.

-Employees as well. What do you mean?

-I mean that employees have a list of obligations which they have to fulfill apart from work everyday or to arrive on time.

-I didn't know about it. I watched your video on Evideo lesson dot com where you explained about the duties of the employer. So can I fire an employee?

-Yes, if your employee is not acting reasonably you can dismiss him.

-Can you tell me some of these duties?

-Surely I can. Let's start with the classic one - the duty to obey law firm unreasonably orders.

-Actually I read something about a gardener - he refused to plant some plants where instructed by the employer. His employer fired him. The guy I know wasn't happy at all and sued the employer. The judge stated that the employee was in breach of the duty of obedience, therefore could be dismissed without notice.

-I know this case. This is the case of Pepper versus Web judged in 1968. Another duty is the duty of mutual cooperation.

-Mutual cooperation? Can you explain this?

-Sure. Employees have to obey employers providing the orders don't breach the common law. They have also to act reasonably when working and must not act in a manner calculated to damage the mutual trust between employer and him.

-Now that you tell me these terms I remember the case. Secretary of State for Employment versus ASLEF judged in 1972. In this case railway workers followed the British railway rule book to the letter. They knew if they did it, it would cause delays in the train services. They were fired, not happy with their bosses; they sued them.The employees lost the case because they didn't act reasonably.

-This was a good example but it doesn't stop here. There are more duties like the duty to exercise reasonable care and skill.

-This I know. The employee must act with reasonable care in performing his duties. If he does a small mistake he will not be fired of course but if he does a gross negligence he can be dismissed.

-That is a famous case which is the case of Listra versus Romford Ice ltd judged in 1972. In this case the employee ran over another employee with a forklift.

-Really? What happened to him? I mean was he fired, arrested or wasn't?

-He was liable in damages to his employer for breach of contract. Other duty is the duty of good faith, which states that the employee cannot use the employer's property as his own. Sinclaire versus neighbor judged in 1967 is a famous case. The employee secretly borrowed from the shop some money. Although he gave the money back on the following day he was dismissed. He sued his boss but judge stated that he breached the duty of good faith.

-I have a question. Can employees delegate their responsibility on the job to others?

-No, unless they have the expressed or implied authorization of their bosses. If they do it so - they are breaching the duty to render personal service.

-I read that employees cannot have part-times with their employer’s rivals during their employment because they can disclose trade secrets.

-Well, we talked a lot about the employees today. You can now watch on Evideo lesson both cases: employee and employer and compare the duties of both. As long as employer and employee work reasonable and respect each other there will not be any problem.

Listening 5. Listen to the lecture on the duties of an employer towards an employee and make a list of such duties.

Hi friends, how are you? I'm from Elesson dot com and I'm here to tell you about the main duties of an employer towards an employee. The first one is the duty to pay a reasonable remuneration. The second is the duty to indemnify the employees, in other words to be liable for any reasonable act caused by the employee when he was doing his job. The third one is the duty to provide a safe system of work. Every employer in the UK has to make sure that the employees have a safe and clean environment to work. Therefore if you were working on a place where you think it is not safe - inform the respective authorities. Now I remember something important. If the employer has taken reasonable care of your working environment he will not be liable for any accident related to health and safety. Let’s talk about the fourth one - the duty to give reasonable notice of termination of employment. It usually doesn't happen, ‘cause the lengthes of notice are usually included on the contracts. The fifth one is the duty of mutual cooperation. The employer has a duty not to behave in a manner calculated to damage the relationship of trust and confidence between him and the employee. The sixth is the duty to provide work. If you, employee, work on the basis of piece work or commission, your employer has to provide you sufficient work to enable you to earn a reasonable salary. The seventh and the last one is the duty to provide a fair reference. The truth is your employer is not obligated to give any reference of employees but if he does it he has to give us a reference about you. So, on this video we learned that our employer’s duties are: pay our reasonable remuneration, indemnify the employee, provide a safe working environment, reasonable notice of termination of employment, neutral cooperation, provisional work and provisional reference.

Listening 6. Listen to the lecture on the types of dismissal and make a list of them with the explanation of the meaning of each. When isn’t a summary dismissal a wrongful one? What is constructive dismissal?

Hi, I am Mr. Brain the new member of Evideo lesson. How are you today? In our videos on employment law Mr. Help covered so far the following areas: types of the employment, contract of employment, duties of the employer and duties of the employees. Today we will talk about wrongful and unfair dismissal. Let’s start there. So, what would be a wrongful dismissal? A wrongful dismissal is when an employer terminates the contract of employment without giving proper notice or during its fixed term. You may be asking – what if the employer dismissed the employee without any notice? When the employer dismisses an employee without giving any notice – it is known as summary dismissal. Summary dismissal is usually a wrongful dismissal. A summary dismissal won’t be a wrongful dismissal when the employee waves his rights except payment to leave the job earlier or breaches the rules of the contract but in a serious way. Now let’s talk about an unfair dismissal. Unfair dismissal occurs when an employer terminates the contract of employment without a justifiable reason. This is a statutory right under the Employment Rights Act 1996 there are three types of dismissal, they are known as contract terminated by the employer or without the notice, fixed term contract expired and not renewed by the employer and the constructive dismissal. You may be asking yourself - where there is a constructive dismissal? Better then I will tell you what it is , I will tell you about the case of Donovan vs. Invicta Airways judgment 1970. It was about airline pilot who was put pressure to take abnormal risks three times in a short period of time. He refused doing it causing problems between him and the management. The situation of his job was unbearable after that, so he quitted his job. The pilot sued his company for wrongful dismissal and he won the case. Now imagine he was almost forced to quit his job and it is what the constructive dismissal is. I already told you what wrongful and unfair dismissals are but now I will tell you when it would be fair to dismiss an employee. You wouldn’t have problems if you dismiss an employee which lost his capabilities or qualifications to do the job. Let me give you an example. Imagine, if a bus driver loses his driving lisence, he surely can’t do what he has been paid for. It wouldn’t be a problem to fire someone who had a bad conduct towards his job, and example of bad conduct would be an employee stealing money from the cashier. It wouldn’t be a problem if the continuation of the contract would contravene the statute. That is easy to explain. Imagine you hire a foreigner, then a month later he loses his visa – you can fire him as he is not entitled to work in your country. In this video we talked about wrongful and unfair dismissal. I hope this check made the difference between these two types of dismissal clear to you. In the next video we will talk about redundancy, retirement and remedies for wrongful and unfair dismissal. Thank you for the support.

Listening 7. Listen to the lecture on the retirement and redundancy and answer the following questions.

1. What is redundancy and isn’t it an unfair dismissal?

2. What is retirement and how can an employee be retired fairly?

-Hi, everyone. It is Mr. Help from Evideo Lesson. Today I have around a new colleague Mr. Brain. How are you, Mr. Brain?

-Hi, Mr. Help, thanks for receiving me here. So we will talk about retirement, right? We will also talk about redundancy. Just before we start to talk about these legal may I tell our public something important?

-Go ahead mister Brain.

-Please dear friends, your subscription to our youtube channel is really important for us, so please subscribe and help us to grow our community.

-O’kay. Thanks mister Brain. I'm sure our friends will subscribe to our channel. Now let's carry on.

-I will start with redundancy. Redundancy is the state or a fact of being unemployed because work is no longer offered or considered necessary. In order to make employees redundant employers are following some procedures in order to not be considered unfair dismissal.

-So please tell me when it will not be unfair dismissal.

-Employer won't have any problem to make employees redundant if he will cease or will cease the business for the purposes for which the employee has been employed. Employer also can make people redundant if the business will be moved to another city or country and employer doesn't mean the particular kind of work as he has seized the business.

-The procedures to fairly make employees redundant are different according with the number of people employer will dismiss, for twenty two of ninety nine proposed redundancies consult the unions of the employees and if there is no union employer has to communicate to reach individual thirty days before make the final decision and for more than one hundred proposed redundancies employer has to consult unions ninety days before. Mister Brain can you please tell us when and how many employee can be retired fairly?

-An employee can be retired when you reach the normal retirement age but it is not that easy. There are some steps to be taken. First: employers to send a notice to the employees six months in advance. Second: together with his notice employers to send another notice stating that employee has the right to request to work longer. Third: employee must send the request of continuing working at least three months before the proposed retirement date. Fourth: and last step employer can refuse the request as long as he has a fair reason to not do so. So these are the steps to dismiss an employee who reached the retirement age.

-Thanks mister Brain and welcome to our Evideo lesson team.

-It was my pleasure mister Help.

Listening 8: Listen to the following song “Nursery Rhyme Lawyer Lyrics” by Throwing Toasters and fill in the missing words or phrases.

This is a great song about a lawyer who represents characters from popular nursery rhymes. Humpty Dumpty, Jack 'n Jill - all victims of needless accidents. Who do you call? The Nursery Rhyme Lawyer. Who else is going to serve a restraining order to keep the spider away from Little Miss Muffet.

Nursery Rhyme Lawyer Lyrics

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall Humpty Dumpty had a great fall and All the king's horses and all the king's men Couldn't get him a dime But I could Jack and Jill went up the hill To fetch themselves a pail of water They fell down and we sued everyone Including the hill owner's daughter If you are a nursery rhyme And you're in trouble all the time Wanna put your wife in a pumpkin rhine? I can give you peace of mind 'Cause my service is one of a kind I'm the Nursery Rhyme Lawyer Little Miss Muffett sat on her tuffet And then that spider came out to play We served that arachnid with a restraining order Now he must be at least two hundred yards away Blackbirds baked in your pie? Boy kissed you and made you cry? Your cow jumpin' into the sky? Crazy, thinkin' he could fly Give my services a try And see what a good boy am I My ex-husband, that crooked old man, ran off with that floozy gardner, Mistress Mary, and left me with these twenty kids living in a shoe. I didn't have any idea what to do. So, I called up the Nursery Rhyme Lawyer. In just one week, he had found that miserable scum-bag of a man and had him paying child support. Huh! He can keep those cockle shells, I got the money. We live in a boot now, and I have a summer sandle on the lake. Thank you Nursery Rhyme Lawyer! When your cupboard is bare I'm gonna be there Dish ran away with your spoon I'll get it back soon If you've lost your sheep There's no need to weep Someone's stealin' your tarts Don't let it break your heart If your bridge is fallin' down I'm gonna be around When the bough breaks I've got what it takes You know who I am I'm the Nursery Rhyme Lawyer You know, I make my living jumping over candlesticks because I'm very nimble and quick. But, uh, one day I slipped on a puddle of wax and I got burned pretty badly. I called the Nursery Rhyme Lawyer and he was able to get me workman's comp in no time flat. Thank you Nursery Rhyme Laywer! My little lamb followed me to school one day. Those mean boys and girls just laughed and laughed at him all day long. So I called the Nursery Rhyme Lawyer and we filed defamation of character suits against them and I haven't heard so much as a peep from them since. Thank you Nursery Rhyme Lawyer! I got pushed off a wall and the Nursery Rhyme Lawyer got me $1.2 million. You know the story. Man, my brains is scrambled . . .

Listening 9. Listen to the lecture on Remedies for Wrongful or Unfair dismissal and answer the following questions.

1. What are the options for the employee dismissed unfairly?

2. What is reinstatement?

3. What is reengagement?

4. What are the types of monetary awards?

5. What is the maximum discriminatory award?

Hi everyone, how are you? I am Mr. Help from Evideo lesson and today I will tell you about the remedies available to employees in case of wrongful or unfair dismissal. We so far could have listened to topics: types of employment, duties of employee and employer, contract of employment, types of dismissal. So let's start with those who were wrongfully dismissed. Employees who were wrongfully dismissed can bring their claim to the employment tribunal county court and high court depending on the amount to be clamed. If the claim is for less than twenty five thousand pounds employees complain to the employment tribunal or alternatively, they can go to the county court or high court. For those who were very unfairly dismissed damages, reinstatement and reengagement is available. Let's talk about it then. Reinstatement. Courts or tribunals can reinstate employees who were unfairly dismissed. To reinstate means if employee was unfairly dismissed and he wishes to have his work back court then forced the employer to reinstate the employee. Re-engagement is one of the options for an employee who was made redundant. If the redundancy is found to be unfair judges may state that employer must give to the employee the job comparable to what the employees had before. So, we learned about the reinstatement and re-engagement which are injunctions. Now it is time to talk about remedies or money you may have the right as unfairily dismissed. There are three types of awards: the basic, the compensatory and the additional award. The basic awards will vary in the court to age of the claimant. If you are between eighteen and twenty one year old you are entitled to half week’s pay for each year of complete service. If you are between twenty two in forty years old you are entitled to one week's pay for each year of complete service. If you are over forty years old you are entitled to one and a half week’s pay for each year of complete service. To be careful the maximum years of service to be count is twenty years. If you worked for thirty years for a company you will receive only for twenty years of service and not for thirty. Now let's talk about compensatory awards. Compensatory award is the name given to the award which in employment tribunal must make a successful claimant in an unfair dismissal case to compensate him for financial loss suffered as a result of his dismissal. The tribunal will also make a basic award but this is calculated according to a fixed statutory formula according to age and length of service of the claimant and does not vary in relation to loss actually suffered. Compensatory award is made only in cases in which tribunals decide as they often do. The reinstatement and reengagement orders will be inappropriate. The maximum discriminatory award is sixty three thousand five hundred pounds and it is based on the employee’s losses. These awards are always reduced if the employee contributed to his dismissal. Now let's talk about the additional awards. Additional awards may rise if the employer doesn't obey the judge's decision of reinstatement or re-engagement, if employee was dismissed unfairly because of race, sex, disability or any other type of discrimination or the reasons cited for dismissal of the employee is an inadmissible wrong. Wow, that was a very long talk, wasn't it? We talked about remedies available for wrongful and unfair dismissal.

Listening 10. An employment tribunal claim

The following telephone conversation is between a lawyer (Jane) and a client (Gwen), who is an employer defending a claim filed with the employment tribunal. They discuss the preparations for a pre-hearing assessment.

Gwen: Hi, Jane, this is Gwen Hill here from Ludco Ltd. I'm just about to go into a managers' meeting and I need to let everyone know what's going on in the Myers case.

Jane: Hello there, yeah, yeah, I've had a quick look at the documents that we've got so far, and I can say that she does have the right to claim unfair dismissal. Of course, that doesn't mean she's necessarily going to win the case.

Gwen: I understand.

Jane: Now, we have to follow the prescribed procedure in order to defend it. I'd imagine that if it goes to trial - and I certainly hope it doesn’t -then it'll be disposed of within, say, six to 12 months. But as I said, we have to follow the prescribed procedure.

Gwen: OK, so what is the prescribed procedure?

Jane: Well, we've already carried out the first step - I sent you a draft entry of appearance with your answers to the claim. As I understand it, Ms Myers was dismissed for stealing. Could you review what we've written about the reasons for dismissal and let me know if it's correct?

Gwen: Yes, I've read the draft and I just need to make a few minor changes. I can send you an email after my meeting. What's the next step?

Jane: The next step would be to make an application for a pre­hearing assessment. You use that when you feel that the claim has very little prospect of success, which is the case here. She was actually caught stealing documents, wasn't she, or rather taking them from the building? So of course our defence is extremely strong.

Gwen: So what do we need to do?

Jane: There are still a few things that we need to look at. The first thing is the confidentiality aspect since there was a breach of the employee's duty of confidentiality and loyalty to the company, we need to explain what happened, exactly what she did. Who saw her taking documents out of the building? Were the documents in a briefcase? Were they photocopies? All the details really. We need to get everything watertight, as they say. Could you supply me all those details?

Gwen: Sure. I'll write it all up for you. What happens after that?

Jane: Well, we can make a written submission and ask the employment tribunal to actually dispose of the claim purely on the basis of the written submission. They'll decide whether to dispose of the claim or to support it at the pre­hearing assessment. I'm pretty sure they'll grant us a pre­hearing assessment, and then it's up to us to convince them at the pre-hearing that the claim does not merit a full hearing. Considering the facts, I'd actually recommend that there'd be some form of written presentation first, because firstly it costs less, and secondly you're not dragged out of the office, which of course would also incur costs. Actually, it'd cost the company less, because I don't have to leave here and appear in court for the pre-hearing.

Gwen: OK. Costs aren't really an issue for us. The issue for us is winning and getting this out of the way. Are you sure that doing this in writing is the best way to approach the problem?

Jane: On the basis of everything that I've read so far, I can see nothing whatsoever to be gained by anyone actually allowing this to go to the full hearing. The defence is so strong. Although she does have the right to claim for wrongful dismissal, her conduct as an employee in removing confidential information from the building is clearly a breach of her employment duties. These are contracts of good faith between employer and employee. Of the utmost good faith. She really doesn't have ... well, let's put it this way, she doesn't have a legal leg to stand on, I don't think, at the end of the day.

Gwen: OK, very good, Jane. Thank you for your help and, as I said, I'll send you an email with the revised entry of appearance form, as well as all the details of the theft right after my meeting. Talk to you later.

Jane: OK, thanks. Bye.

Listening 11. The Parkhurst Talkabout

Good evening, and welcome again to the Michael Parkhurst Talkabout. It is now some years since the government introduced the Sex Discrimination Act, which was intended to ensure equality of opportunity for men and women. We wondered whether the Act had been successful, and our four guests tonight are discussing the general question of equality of opportunity.

Bernard Blackburn, journalist and broadcaster

In my opinion we shall never create real equality of opportunity by making laws about newspaper advertisements. You know, you have to advertise for a ‘salesperson’ nowadays rather than a salesman or saleswoman… I’m not saying that these things are unimportant, but basically… by the time children get to four or five they have already been conditioned into their social roles. It starts in the cradle – girls in pink, boys in blue. I heard about an experiment a few years ago where they took a small baby and dressed it in blue. Then they asked several mothers to play with it. They bounced it up and down, and tickled it, and said things like ‘You are a rascal…. A real devil!’, and ‘Ooh, what a big strong boy you are!’. And they laughed when it yelled and shouted. Well, then they dressed the same baby in pink and got another group to play with it. They cuddled it and said, ‘Aren’t you pretty? What a lovely little girl! ‘ As soon as it got noisy they tried to hush it and calm it down. Now, that’s where sexism begins. And that’s long before we give the girls dolls and toy saucepans to play with, and give the boys carts and guns.

Helen Grant, university lecturer

I feel there’s a long way to go before we can talk about equality of opportunity. Men still expect their jobs to take priority. Even where both partners work, too many men still expect the woman to cook meals and do housework. I mean, go into a supermarket at lunch time. It’s full of working women giving up their lunch hour to do the family shopping. How many men would expect to do the same? They’re probably spending the lunch hour laughing and joking… about women. The same old, tired jokes go on forever… women drivers, mothers-in-law and sexy secretaries. Secretaries! That’s another absurdity. Imagine an office where a man and a woman are doing similar jobs. She’s called a secretary, he’s called a trainee manager. Of course this is how so many firms avoid obeying the law on equal pay… by altering the job description. The media, as always, I’m afraid, is so much to blame. Magazines, TV, film and advertising portray women as sex objects, not people. Women are blackmailed into buying useless products because they might fear they are unattractive without them. Too many of us accept the stereotype, and waste our time worrying and dieting to fit some imaginary male ideal.

Dr. Alice Lee, a general practitioner

Equality. Yes, well… I’m doctor, so I suppose you could say that I have an interesting, rewarding and important job. However, I have experienced tremendous prejudice from male colleagues, and after all, while there are plenty of women doctors, most of the surgeons and top consultants are men. The argument’s always the same, in all spheres of activity, that women will leave the job to have babies. Of course not all women want to have babies, so this is tremendously unjust. Personally I did want children… I’ve got two… and I stopped work to have them. Children are always forgotten in the argument. I’ve always felt that it is a very narrow view of life to value a person purely in terms of job status. I believe we should remove the barriers against women at work, but I also do not see myself only as a working person, ‘Dr. Lee’. Being a mother is a very important social role, and we need to re-assess our view of motherhood and to regard it as equally valid as any job. It is absurd to think a woman is ‘more successful’ as a Prime Minister, than as a mother. Of course this is equally true for men. Couples who have swopped roles, where the mother has gone out to work, and the father has stayed at home, will tell you that both jobs are equally important; and even that being at home is more damaging, emotionally and physically.

Rosemary Valentine, romantic novelist

Perhaps I come from a different generation. When I was a girl things were quite different. I enjoy having doors open for me. I like it when men stand up as I enter a room, make sure that I am seated before them. I feel that the romance has gone out of life today. I used to love getting dressed up for a party, having my hair done and so on. I never felt inferior – just different. I wouldn’t want my husband to help me in the house, and I’d feel strange if he did. I also can’t worry about all this fuss about words. We are supposed to say ‘chairperson’ rather than ‘chairman’. I don’t dislike it, but I don’t see it as terribly important. I think my husband is a typical example of a male chauvinist pig, but I like him that way.

Listening 12. Liability risks

Ms. Brewer: Good morning, Mrs. Howard, Mr. Howard. Please come in.

Mrs. Howard: Good morning, Ms Brewer.

Mr. Howard: Hello.

Ms. Brewer: Please have a seat. Can I get you something to drink?

Mrs. Howard: No, thanks, I'm fine.

Mr. Howard: Not for me, thanks.

Ms Brewer: Right, then. On the phone, you told me that you wanted to speak to me about drug testing at your company. Maybe you could tell me something about what's going on at your company at the moment. How's business?

Mrs. Howard: Not bad, we can't complain, can we, John?

Mr. Howard: No, no, business is fine. Actually the demand for cleaning services and facility management is growing in the area. But we're here to ask for your advice - we think we've got a drug problem among our employees ...

Mrs. Howard: ... and we're considering starting drug testing, some sort of programme that all the employees have to participate in. We just can't tolerate the current situation. There are at least three of the younger men, window cleaners, who we're sure, really sure, are taking drugs, even while they're on the job, and one of the supervisors, who we ... we think is also .. '

Mr. Howard: It's just that we think it's dangerous.

Mrs. Howard: .. and it's bad for our reputation,

Ms Brewer: Right. If I could just jump in here and summarise what you've been telling me. You suspect that several of your employees abuse drugs and so you're contemplating implementing a drug-testing programme, is that correct? And you'd like me to inform you about the legality of such a course of action.

Mr. Howard: Yeah, that's right.

Ms Brewer: Weil, first of all, I should say that the legal position on drug testing at work isn't at all clear at present. There's no direct legislation, and important legal questions depend on the interpretation of numerous provisions in health and safety, employment, human rights and data-protection law. This is a very tricky area, and one would have to proceed very carefully.

Mrs. Howard: What do you mean?

Ms Brewer: Well, if you were to subject your employees to drug testing, and you found out that a worker abused illegal substances and then terminated his employment, there's a good chance that you could be sued for violating the employee's right to privacy.

Mr. Howard: But what about my rights? Such as my right as an employer to maintain a drug-free workplace?

Mrs. Howard: Exactly!

Ms Brewer: I agree with you, Mr. Howard, but we have to look at what the law says. Generally speaking, the courts in our jurisdiction have only tended to rule in favour of the employer in those cases where the dismissed employee has been engaged in safety-sensitive work, And where the employer had implemented a long-term workplace safety policy that included not only drug testing, but also the opportunity for the workers to get treatment for their drug problems.

Mr. Howard: But that could take ages! We can't risk waiting until they've had a chance to kick their drug habits!

Mrs. Howard: John's right - we need to act on this now.

Ms Brewer: I'm afraid I have to disagree with you both. In my opinion, you risk more by acting hastily, by making a knee-jerk reaction to the problem. You risk costly litigation that you'd most likely lose,

Mrs. Howard: That may be true, but we can't just sit back and do nothing.

Mr. Howard: I couldn't agree more! There must be something we can do to respond to the situation right now. After all, these three workers are window cleaners, and there's most definitely a safety issue involved. We're responsible for the safety of our workers and for the safety of others.

Ms Brewer: I see your point, and you're absolutely right - you do bear responsibility for the safety of others. Let me suggest something you could do immediately: you could consider re-assigning the workers in question to different tasks, to jobs that are less safety-sensitive. And then you could launch a new workplace safety initiative, concentrating on drug and alcohol abuse, with employee meetings, memos and the like informing your workers of the new policy.

Mrs. Howard: That's not a bad idea ...

Listening for Task 6 from Supplementary Materials for Self-study: