Definition

HR legislation is the body of UK statute law regulating the employment relationship: engagement, pay, treatment and dismissal. The core statutes are the Equality Act 2010, the Employment Rights Act 1996, the National Minimum Wage Act 1998, the Working Time Regulations 1998, the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Data Protection Act 2018. Together they create a floor of rights whilst imposing positive duties to promote equality and prevent harm.

Why this matters for Ethics, Rules of Conduct and Professionalism

  • Rule 5 (Responsibility): RICS members who manage staff are personally responsible for compliance. Ignorance is no defence in tribunal proceedings.
  • At Level 3 you must evidence practical application: conducting a pay audit, handling a grievance, or managing a redundancy process lawfully.
  • HR compliance failures expose firms to tribunal claims and reputational damage; discriminatory recruitment could also breach Rule 4 (Respect) and the Equality Act 2010.

Key principles

Non-discrimination and the protected characteristics

The Equality Act 2010 prohibits direct and indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation on nine protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. Job advertisements, interview questions, promotion criteria and redundancy selection must all be free from bias. Reasonable adjustments must be made for disabled employees and applicants.

Fair pay and working time

The National Minimum Wage Act 1998 requires all workers to be paid at least the prevailing National Living Wage rate for their age group. The Working Time Regulations 1998 cap the working week at 48 hours on average (subject to opt-out), require 5.6 weeks' annual leave and mandate adequate rest breaks. A surveying practice that routinely requires graduates to work excessive hours without compensation could be in breach of both instruments.

Employment rights and termination

The Employment Rights Act 1996 gives employees the right to written employment particulars, statutory minimum notice, protection from unfair dismissal (after two years' qualifying service) and statutory redundancy pay. Dismissal must follow a fair procedure including investigation, a disciplinary hearing and a right of appeal; procedural failures can render even a substantively fair dismissal unfair at tribunal.

Health, safety and wellbeing

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 requires employers to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, employees' health, safety and welfare. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require a written risk assessment for firms with five or more employees.

Relevant RICS guidance and legislation

  • Equality Act 2010 — prohibits discrimination on nine protected characteristics across all aspects of employment.
  • Employment Rights Act 1996 — core employment rights including unfair dismissal, redundancy and written particulars.
  • National Minimum Wage Act 1998 — minimum pay obligations for all workers.
  • Working Time Regulations 1998 — maximum weekly hours, annual leave and rest break entitlements.
  • Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 — general duty to protect employees' health, safety and welfare.
  • Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR — obligations on lawful processing of employee personal data.
  • RICS Rules of Conduct (effective 2 February 2022) — Rule 4 (Respect) and Rule 5 (Responsibility) are particularly relevant to people management.

Ethics and Rules of Conduct angle

Rule 4 (Respect) requires members and firms to treat others with respect and encourage diversity and inclusion, directly paralleling Equality Act 2010 obligations. Rule 5 (Responsibility) requires acting in the public interest and preventing harm; a firm that tolerates a hostile working environment or fails to investigate a grievance fails on both counts. Level 3 candidates must demonstrate that these are actively held professional values, not merely legal requirements.

APC-style Q&As

Q (Level 1)Name three statutes that form the core of UK employment law.

The Equality Act 2010, the Employment Rights Act 1996 and the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Together these protect workers from discrimination, set minimum termination rights, and impose a duty on employers to maintain safe working conditions.

Q (Level 1)What are the nine protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010?

Age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. Employers must not discriminate directly or indirectly on any of these grounds in recruitment, promotion, pay or dismissal decisions.

Q (Level 2)How would you ensure a recruitment process at your firm complies with the Equality Act 2010?

(example) On a recent graduate recruitment exercise I reviewed the job description to remove any criteria that were not genuinely required for the role, used a diverse interview panel, applied standardised scoring criteria, and ensured all questions were competency-based rather than personal. These steps reduce the risk of both direct and indirect discrimination claims and align with Rule 4 of the RICS Rules of Conduct.

Q (Level 2)What is the difference between direct and indirect discrimination under the Equality Act 2010?

Direct discrimination occurs when a person is treated less favourably because of a protected characteristic — for example, not shortlisting a candidate because they are pregnant. Indirect discrimination occurs when a provision, criterion or practice that appears neutral in fact puts people with a protected characteristic at a particular disadvantage without objective justification — for example, requiring all surveyors to work full-time when this disproportionately disadvantages women with caring responsibilities.

Q (Level 3)A graduate in your team tells you she is being passed over for promotion because she recently returned from maternity leave. What steps do you take and under which legislation?

(example) I would treat this as potential pregnancy and maternity discrimination under the Equality Act 2010. My immediate steps would be to document the conversation, advise the graduate of the firm's grievance procedure and her right to raise a formal complaint, and escalate to HR and senior management without delay. I would not manage this informally, as that could compromise a subsequent investigation. I would also check promotion records for comparable colleagues to identify whether a pattern exists. Throughout I would act in line with Rule 4 (Respect) and Rule 5 (Responsibility).