Citizen 16+ The Civil Law and You

205 Pages·1986·27.739 MB·English

by  Brenda Mothersole (auth.)

CITIZENI6+
THECIVn..LAWANDYOU
CITIZEN 16+
THE CML LAW ANDYOU
BrendaMothersole
AssociateLecturer inLaw at Uxbridge Technical College;
CitizensAdvice Bureau worker
M
MACMILLAN
© Brenda Mothersole 1986

Allrights reserved.No reproduction, copyor trans
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copiedortransmittedsavewithwrittenpermissionor
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tion and civilclaims for damages.
First published 1986
Published by
MACMILLAN EDUCATION LTD
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 2XS
and London
Companies and representatives
throughout the world
British Library Cataloguingin Publication Data
Mothersole, Brenda
Citizen 16+:the civillawand you.
1.Law- England 2.Youth- Legalstatus,laws,etc.
- England

I. Title
344.2'0024055 KD665.Y6
ISBN978-I-349-07217-0 ISBN978-1-349-07215-6(eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-07215-6
To Geoffrey
Contents
ListofPiguresandTables
IX
Preface
Xl
Acknowledgements Xlll
1 SocietyandtheLaw 1
Introduction:Whydowehavelaw?;Definingthe law;A
classificationofthelawofEnglandandWales;Themakingoflaw
2 ComingofAge 9
General knowledge quiz; Answers to the quiz; Exercises
3 Shopping:TheLawofBuyingandSelling 24
Legalprotection;Thelawandthe consumer;Howthelawoperates;
Thetraderand thelaw;Awiseshopper'sguide
4 GoingtoWork 58
Acontractofemployment;Holidayentitlement;Propernotice;
Terminationofemployment; Discriminationatwork;Wageslips;
Income Taxand NationalInsurance;Apprenticeships;Minors'
employmentcontracts;Self-employment;Accidentatwork;
Sicknessentitlements;Contributorynegligence; Healthandsafety
atwork;Vicariousliability;Tradeunions
5 NoJob 96
Scenario- attheCitizens AdviceBureau;StateBenefits;Waysof
findingwork;Work experienceand legalrights
6 Somewhereto Live 115
Rentedaccommodation;Accommodationagencies;Shared
accommodation;Tenantsandlandlords;Noticetoquit;Fairrents;
Housingbenefits; Therentbook;Repairs andimprovements;
Multi-occupation;Landlord'sharassmentoftenants;Squatting,
trespass andhomelessness;Buyingahouseorflat;Theconveyance;
Surveyor'sreport;Leaseholdand freehold property;Home
improvementgrants; Rates; Public andprivatenuisance
7 Citizenship 145
Domicile; Nationalityandimmigration;Non-nationalsinBritain;
Therighttomoveinand outoftheUK;Therighttovote
vii
Vtlt Contents
8 WaysofSeekingaRemedy 151
I. Out-of-court solutions; Legal and quasi-legal services; The
courts; Legal personnel; Legal remedies.
II. Going tocourt;Thecourts; Thecivilaction;Thecountycourt;
The magistrates' court; the High CourtofJustice; CourtofAppeal
(CivilDivision);The criminal courts; The Crown Court; Court of
appeal (Criminal Division);The House of Lords; The Coroner's
Court; Tribunals; The Courts of Europe
Glossary 181
UsefulAddresses 182
SuggestedReading 186
TableofCases 187
TableofStatutes 188
Index 190
List of Figures and Tables
Figures
1.1 ActsofParliament, other legislation and reports are published by
thegovernmentthroughHerMajesty'sStationeryOffice 7
3.1 Whatkindofshopperareyou? 24
3.2 Thereversesideofastandardformcontract- the'smallprint' 44
3.3 Examples ofthe range ofleaflets for consumers published bythe
OfficeofFairTrading 52
3.4 Takingyourcomplainttothe smallclaimscourt.One ofanumber
ofdifferentformsforcommencingproceedingsinacountycourt 55
4.1 Startingwork 58
4.2 An extract from the Department of Employment leaflet Written
statementofmaintermsandconditionsofemployment 62
4.3 An example of aself-certification form for claiming statutory sick
payfromyouremployer 76
4.4 Health and safety at work - an extract from a leaflet for young
workers,producedbythe HealthandSafetyExecutive 82
4.5 Anexampleofanaccidentreportform 92
4.6 Applyingtoanindustrialtribunal 94-5
5.1 Lookingforwork 96
5.2 Seekingadvicefromthe Citizens AdviceBureau 97
5.3 TheNationalInsuranceNumbercard 98
5.4 Useful leaflets for those leaving school, published yearly by the
DHSS 108
6.1 Leavinghome 115
6.2 Homeimprovements- anOfficeofFairTradingleaflet 129
6.3 Asquatinsouth London 132
6.4 Buyingaflat 135
7.1 ABritishpassport 145
8.1 Seekingadvicefromlocalagencies 152
8.2 Acountycourt 161
8.3 Thestructureofthecourts inEnglandandWales 162
8.4 The county court -(a) a plan of the main court (b) A plan of the
arbitrationproceedings 165
8.5 Steps toanactioninthecountycourt 167
8.6 Planofatypicalmagistrates'court 170
8.7 Planofanindustrialtribunal 176
Tables
4.1 Differencesbetween unfairandwrongfuldismissal 66
tX
x ListofPiguresandTables
5.1 Contributoryandnon-contributorybenefits 110
5.2 Placeswherehelpcanbeobtained 111
8.1 Firststepstosolvingproblems outofcourt 153
Preface
An increasing number of young people are anxious to improve their
workingknowledge ofthe law.Yetgenerallytheyhaveaveryconfused
ideaabouttheirrights and responsibilitiesparticularlyinthose areas of
law which impinge upon their daily lives - relating to consumer
matters, businesses, employment, welfare benefits, housing and
citizenship. Many modern-day courses in schools and colleges of
further educationwiththeiremphasis on relevancytoworkexperience
and adultlifeand socialskillscontain asubstantiallegalcontent. This
bookaims toexplainand adviseon the lawinarelevant,authenticand
co-ordinated way. It not only provides for such courses as CPVE
(Certificate in Pre-Vocational Education), TVEI (Technical and
Vocational Education Initiative) and other work-experience courses
and general studies courses, it also provides a practical guide to any
youngpersonwishingtobecomeconversantwith the dailyworkings of
the law.Itisalsoauseful supplementforLawat'0' and 'A' levelsand
forthe proposedGCSE(GeneralCertificateofSecondaryEducation)
and also for distant learning programmes.
Significantly, this book is a departure from the majority of law
textbooks. Drawing on my experience as a Citizens Advice Bureau
(CAB) worker and as a Law lecturer in further education, I have
presentedthe lawasitmight applyin real lifesituations. Thechapters
are so arranged that they take the natural sequence of events,
concentrating first on the problems - in the form of a series of
illustrated case studies - which are directly followed by a question
and-answer analysis ofthe law and legal issues involved. These are
followed byasimple explanation ofthe law.The finalchapter focuses
onwaysofseeking anappropriateremedy, firstwithoutrecoursetothe
courts and then ultimatelythroughthe courts.Thereare variations on
this illustrated case-study method of presentation: Chapter 1 makes
use of programmed learning to discuss the need in societies for law;
Chapter 2 takes the form of a quiz on age limits and liabilities, and
Chapter 5, NoJob,ispresented as aseries ofinterviews at a Citizens
Advice Bureau.It is hoped that students are given in a balanced and
livelywayan awareness ofpossible legalpitfalls towhich they mayfall
victim, and a wide range of information on publicity leaflets and
quasi-legalservicesavailabletothem.Theyarealsotoldaboutthelegal
profession, the civiland criminal courts, tribunals and the courts of
Europe.
Also, anticipating the particular needs of the life and work
experience courses, a special feature of this book is that various
teaching methods and learning assignments frequently appearaspart
ofthechapter'scontent,otherscanbefound atthe end ofeachchapter.
Xl