London 28 May 2012. If you are a non-EEA citizen and have been offered a skilled job in the UK and your prospective employer is willing to sponsor you, you can apply to come or remain here under Tier 2 of the points-based system.

The rules about the hours you are expected to work are established in the European Working Time Directive.

The directive’s guidelines are:

Most Foreign nationals from EEA Countries are free to work in the UK without a visa. All other nationals, however, require permission from the UK Border Agency. In 2008 the UK Border Agency introduced the Points Based System. This is a 5 tier system which encompasses the previous 80 or so routes to working in the UK.

Discrimination and English law (the Equality Act 2010)

Equality of treatment for all is a core value of the English legislature with various legislation enacted towards the end of the 20th century banning most types of discrimination.  Equal pay between men and women became a legal right in 1970 followed by the Sex Discrimination Act in 1975, the Race Relations Act in 1976, and then the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.  Add to this three further pieces of primary legislation in the last decade covering employment equality rights, and the issue of discrimination is a well covered one.