Advice

You will have been sent a National Insurance number automatically just before your 16th birthday if both of the following apply:

• you live in the UK
• your parents or guardians are getting Child Benefit for you

If you haven’t received a National Insurance number contact the National Insurance Registrations Helpline on 0845 915 7006 for advice. Lines are open 8.30 am to 5.00 pm Monday to Friday.

For more information about national insurance click here.

If you have an employment contract you are an employee and therefore a worker for the purpose of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) rules.

There are different levels of NMW, depending on your age and whether you are an apprentice. The rates from 1st October 2012 are:
• £6.19 – the main rate for workers aged 21 and over
• £4.98 – the 18-20 year old rate
• £3.98 – the 16-17 year old rate for workers above school leaving age but under 18
• £2.65 – the apprentice rate, for apprentices under 19 or 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship

For further information on NMW click here

An employee can make a claim for an unlawful deduction from wages whether or not s/he is still working for the employer and s/he does not need to have worked for the employer for a particular length of time to make this claim.

You should raise a grievance with your employer, which means writing to your employer. Please seek further advice from the advice centre at the HUBS as there is a strict deadline if you need to take further action.

The university has a Careers and Employment Service. They advertise jobs on Shuspace – under the support and information tab. We at the Students’ Union also advertise jobs on the jobs page of our website.

If you prefer to work off campus you can look for jobs on websites

• Meadowhall is a good one to check
• www.mysheffieldjobs.co.uk
• the local Jobcentre Plus
• the Sheffield Star (local paper) has a weekly jobspage on Thursdays
• join an employment agency- there are lots of different ones in the city centre. They are free to sign up and they will call you if suitable work for you is available.
• Also look in shop windows

If you’re unhappy about something that your employer or a colleague has said or done, you should always try and talk about it with them. It’s a good idea to try to sort out problems early on. It’s a good idea to write down your concerns and anything that happens. This will be useful as a record and reminder of the situation.

If the issue is still unresolved, then you should put in a grievance. A grievance is a way of more formally raising your concerns, problems or complaints about work with your employer

For further info on how to raise a grievance check out the following link.

Your rights at work will depend on:-

Your statutory rights- Statutory rights are legal rights based on laws passed by Parliament. Nearly all workers, regardless of the number of hours per week they work, have certain legal rights

and

Your contract of employment -Your contract of employment is the agreement made between your employer and you (employee). This could be in the form of a written agreement or what has been agreed verbally between you. In addition, your contract of employment will also include ‘custom and practice’ agreements- things that may not be written but usually happens.

Your contract of employment cannot take away rights you have by law. However, employment law is complex, for further information on rights at work- click here

Or seek further advice from the advice centre at the HUBS.

Everyone should be treated with dignity and respect at work. You shouldn’t have to put up with bullying at work. Employers have a ‘duty of care’ to their employees and this includes dealing with bullying at work. There are measures you can take if you are being bullied.

If you think you are being bullied, it is best to talk it over with someone.

Try to sort it out informally first, speak to the person who is bullying you to make them understand the effect their behaviour is having on you.

If that is not possible, seek help from your line manager, your human resources department or your trade union representative. Keep a diary of the bullying behaviour, e.g. times, dates and how you are feeling. You can make a formal complaint through your employer’s grievance procedure.
Click here for further information

Sheffield Hallam University has a careers guidance service, which is based in the student and learning services in the Owen building, Level 5 and in The Heart of the Campus at Collegiate Crescent site.

There is also information about their service on their website and on shuspace, under the support and information tab.

For further information, their contact details are:-

General careers: 0114 225 3813 (City)
0114 225 2491 (Collegiate)
sheffield-hallam-careers@shu.ac.uk