Employment law a tool needed by school leavers
Adding legal studies would be of help to teenagers, says Malcolm Mackay
Those young Scots leaving school in the next few weeks will be entering the daunting and unknown world of work and study. Headteachers and educationists might bristle when it is suggested that extra subject matter should be loaded on to the crowded curriculum, so, at the risk of incurring the ire of the teaching profession, I’d like to suggest an introduction to employment law be given a slot in the fifth and six year school study period from the next academic year.
As this is the post-millennial generation of Snapchat, Instagram, Whatsapp, Youtube and almighty Facebook, creating a suitable downloadable app that is visually engaging, to-the-point and topical might be the solution – but this only takes leavers so far.
I believe a proper face-toface experience with a real-life employment law practitioner would be time well-spent for many young people.
Surely the Scottish education system can find time to discuss how the employment market has changed since the 1970s and how employment legislation has secured the rights of young people finding their way, whether apprentices, undergraduates with parttime employment or on a settled career path.
Of course, other areas of the law are appropriate for young people to understand, particularly how the criminal justice system operates and their future role as active citizens. Many schools already experience an informal visit from a lawyer to talk in general about the profession.
But employment law has a direct impact on their everyday working lives. It is a whole legal system in its own right. Our education system owes it to the younger generation to broach this subject matter at some stage. Last week at our seminar we tackled the issue of whether someone who has inadvertently broken acyb er security protocol should be dismissed. Young people need to know what they can and can’t do.
Many of them find it tough to get into work and, without a reasonable understanding of their rights and working responsibilities, they may end up being in a place of work unsuitable for them.
A contract of employment will be one of the most important documents – probably the first – they will ever sign, yet it is unlikely they will be able to afford legal advice, relying on a parent or guardian to give it a ‘once over’.
This is not really good enough for today’s young generation. For example, the UK’S hospitality industry requires hundreds of thousands of young people to serve and support the hotels, bars and restaurants and major national events. What happens if a young person is hurt or injured during their time in part-time seasonal work? It is crucial young people know what the situation is before signing on.
Furthermore, with Brexit, more young UK people will be needed to undertake the seasonal work in farms and in agricultural plants. So do they have a contract to support their labour?
We have created a vast entrepreneurial culture in the UK encouraging young people to set up their own businesses. All well and good. They may also find the cost of taking proper legal advice when making their first hires too hefty. But employment mistakes can be expensive.
So surely some kind of instruction on the rudiments of contracts is well worth undertaking. Even if is not part of the formal school curriculum, employment lawyers and HR professionals could offer to volunteer their time at high schools in those ‘carefree’ weeks after the exams and before the end of term.
Perhaps more employment lawyers could take a leaf out of Carson Mcdowell’s book in Northern Ireland. They have become the first law firm to deliver the Lawyers in Schools programme. This is part of the Citizenship Foundation, funded by the Legal Education Foundation. They should be applauded. Apart from the practical benefits of helping young people, it will also showcase employment law as a fulfilling career choice. Malcolm Mackay is chairman of United Employment Lawyers, a national UK network of employment lawyers