For those of you who are starting a business or to existing business owners, the rules surrounding employment law can become very complicated when you are looking to employ other people. However, as difficult as it may be, it is important for you to become familiar with these rules in order to comply with you legal responsibilities as an employer. Different laws will apply to different countries, so it is essential to become aware of the laws that will be applicable to you so that you can protect your business and prevent any future litigation. Here are some main areas of employment law that you will need to be familiar with.
Contract of Employmen
It will be necessary to provide your employees with a written statement of the terms of employment when they start their employment with you. The main topics you would need to account for within the terms of employment, include, the name of the parties to the agreement, job description, hours of work, details of pay, both employer and employee obligations, place of work and holiday pay entitlement. Although this list is not complete and you may want to add some extra terms that may be relevant to your business. This ensures both you and your employees are fully aware of the obligations under the contract of employment. Should any disputes arise in the future, you can always refer back to the contract of employment in support of your case.
Discrimination
It is important to become aware of discrimination laws, as damages awarded for unlawful discrimination can be high. As an employer you should do all that you can to prevent unlawful discrimination at your place of work. Do not discriminate against someone because of their race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or if they have a certain disability. This can also apply when you are advertising and interviewing candidates for job roles. You should select those candidates based on the specific skill required for that job. Try to ensure that you provide equal opportunities to all your workers.
Vicarious Liability
As an employer, you will be legally liable for the acts of all of your staff. So it is important to take any complaints of bullying or harassment from other workers seriously and investigate them thoroughly. Ensuring you have a grievance procedure in place for dealing with these sorts of issues will also be useful.
Minimum Wage
Within some countries, employers are under a legal duty to pay their workers the national minimum wage. Usually, this is worked out based on the workers age and what year they started employment with you. If you already have a contract of employment in place that pays below the minimum wage, the contract will not be legally binding, so it is always best to check if you are complying with these rules.
Health and Safety in the Workplace
It is the employer's responsibility to ensure a safe, working environment is maintained for all workers and members of the public that enter the premises. It is therefore wise to carry out a thorough risk assessment of the work place as well as for each employee and comply with all health and safety regulations, to avoid any negligence claims. The assessments you chose to carry out will depend on the nature of your business, even simple tasks such as ensuring spillages are cleaned up, signs are placed clearly indicating any potential hazards, providing protective clothing and storing hazardous substances appropriately will help to avoid negligence claims.
Although employment law sounds like a minefield, being aware of the rules and seeking advice could go a long way to help protect your business. There are lots of resources online that may help you with this and if you are really confused, prevention is always better and seeking out advice from employment law specialists might work better for you.
Sayse Services provide a claims management service for employees who have been treated unfairly at work. The website contains a substantial amount of free information on employment law.
Contract of Employmen
It will be necessary to provide your employees with a written statement of the terms of employment when they start their employment with you. The main topics you would need to account for within the terms of employment, include, the name of the parties to the agreement, job description, hours of work, details of pay, both employer and employee obligations, place of work and holiday pay entitlement. Although this list is not complete and you may want to add some extra terms that may be relevant to your business. This ensures both you and your employees are fully aware of the obligations under the contract of employment. Should any disputes arise in the future, you can always refer back to the contract of employment in support of your case.
Discrimination
It is important to become aware of discrimination laws, as damages awarded for unlawful discrimination can be high. As an employer you should do all that you can to prevent unlawful discrimination at your place of work. Do not discriminate against someone because of their race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or if they have a certain disability. This can also apply when you are advertising and interviewing candidates for job roles. You should select those candidates based on the specific skill required for that job. Try to ensure that you provide equal opportunities to all your workers.
Vicarious Liability
As an employer, you will be legally liable for the acts of all of your staff. So it is important to take any complaints of bullying or harassment from other workers seriously and investigate them thoroughly. Ensuring you have a grievance procedure in place for dealing with these sorts of issues will also be useful.
Minimum Wage
Within some countries, employers are under a legal duty to pay their workers the national minimum wage. Usually, this is worked out based on the workers age and what year they started employment with you. If you already have a contract of employment in place that pays below the minimum wage, the contract will not be legally binding, so it is always best to check if you are complying with these rules.
Health and Safety in the Workplace
It is the employer's responsibility to ensure a safe, working environment is maintained for all workers and members of the public that enter the premises. It is therefore wise to carry out a thorough risk assessment of the work place as well as for each employee and comply with all health and safety regulations, to avoid any negligence claims. The assessments you chose to carry out will depend on the nature of your business, even simple tasks such as ensuring spillages are cleaned up, signs are placed clearly indicating any potential hazards, providing protective clothing and storing hazardous substances appropriately will help to avoid negligence claims.
Although employment law sounds like a minefield, being aware of the rules and seeking advice could go a long way to help protect your business. There are lots of resources online that may help you with this and if you are really confused, prevention is always better and seeking out advice from employment law specialists might work better for you.
Sayse Services provide a claims management service for employees who have been treated unfairly at work. The website contains a substantial amount of free information on employment law.