• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Submissions
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Feb 3, 2023
  • Startup
    • Creating a Plan
    • Funding a Startup
    • Franchise Center
    • Getting Your Office Ready
    • Making Your Business Official
    • Marketing Your New Business
    • Personal Readiness
  • Run & Grow
    • Customer Service
    • Human Resources
    • Innovation
    • Legal
    • Operations
    • Risk Management
  • Leadership
    • Best Practices
    • Communication
    • Green Initiatives
    • Open Culture
    • Strategic Planning
    • People Skills
  • Sales & Marketing
    • Advertising and Lead Generation
    • Marketing Innovations
    • Marketing Plans
    • Online Marketing
    • Relationships
    • Sales Activities
  • Finance
    • Budgeting and Personal Finance
    • Payments and Collections
    • Tax and Accounting
    • Pricing Strategy
    • Working with Investors
    • Working with Lenders
  • Tech
    • eCommerce
    • Hardware
    • Software
    • Security
    • Tech Reviews
    • Telecom
  • Shop

SmallBizClub

Helping You Succeed

taxbandits banner
Home / Run and Grow / Legal / Is Your SME Aware of These 4 Vital Areas of Employment Law
Is Your SME Aware of These 4 Vital Areas of Employment Law

Is Your SME Aware of These 4 Vital Areas of Employment Law

2549 Views

Dec 14, 2017 By Zak Goldberg

There are many areas that need to be taken into account when making sure your SME is running successfully. Factors such as customer satisfaction, profit margins and stock control all need to be monitored and are seldom overlooked, but employment law can be.

This complex area is, however, paramount to the effective running of an SME and neglecting it can turn out to be costly. This article examines some of the more salient issues and why SMEs need to be fully aware of employment laws.

Recruitment

The first thing to be aware of when considering recruitment is that discrimination, if proven to have taken place, is illegal. Avoiding discrimination means looking only to fulfil the requirements of the job role and a candidate’s ability to do so. Personal characteristics such as age, gender and race need to be put to one side and should not factor into the decision making.

When selecting a candidate, it is important that records are kept that detail how and why a particular candidate was chosen to be offered a role. Once a candidate accepts that role, be aware that the two parties have entered into a legal agreement – a contract of employment, even if no documents have been signed.

It is worth mentioning at the interview stage that a job offer letter will be sent to the successful candidate and only after references have been verified will a contract with terms and conditions be offered.

Being thorough at this stage will act to form a firm foundation on which the relationship between employer and employee can be built upon.

Terms and Conditions

Setting out equitable terms and conditions in the employment contract is paramount if SMEs are to operate within the appropriate employment laws.

Working hours, pay and holiday entitlement are all areas that need to be agreed and that must comply with the statutory requirements as laid out by the government. When drawing up contacts, bear in mind that they cannot be changed further down the line without the consent of the employee and so getting them right in the first instance could prevent problems in the long term.

Employee Rights

Employees have a number of rights that need to be met and failing to do so can lead to a whole variety of problems including being sued for compensation.

For example; an employee has the right to work in a safe and healthy environment, they are entitled to blow the whistle if they feel that the employers are breaching employment laws or any other laws and employees are entitled to a degree of privacy when it comes to things like being monitored.

Disciplinary and Grievance

SME owners need to ensure that disciplinary and grievance procedures are put into place and that they are fair and reasonable.

Issues like absence from work can cause real headaches for SME managers and directors and so having procedures that are made clear in the terms and conditions of employment is beneficial to all concerned.

Being aware of employment laws and building them into the fabric of an SME is essential if it is to run smoothly and optimize profits.

Filed Under: Legal Tagged With: Contracts, Employees, Legal Issues

Zak Goldberg

Zak Goldberg

Zak Goldberg is a Law & Business Graduate from the University of Leeds and has chosen to follow his aspiration of becoming a publish author, offering expert advice and commentary of all areas of law and business economics.

Related Posts

  • how-to-retain-employees4 Keys to Unlocking Your Employees’ Full Potential
  • Protect Your Employees’ Rights With These 8 Tips
  • When and Why Do You Need Legal Transcription?

Primary Sidebar

Random

An Unconventional Path to Better Business: Raise Your Rates & Turn Clients Away

Jun 21, 2013 By Under30CEO

Subject Lines: Why They Matter More Than You Think

Mar 9, 2021 By Angela Ash

3 Offline Ways You Can Promote Your Small Business

May 2, 2022 By SmallBizClub

5 Ways to Increase the Response Rate to Your Emails

Aug 17, 2016 By SmallBizClub

What to Do When Your Boss Says It’s Time to Innovate

Oct 22, 2014 By Mike Maddock

Footer

About Us

Small Biz Club is the premier destination for small business owners and entrepreneurs. To succeed in business, you have to constantly learn about new things, evaluate what you’re doing, and look for ways to improve—that’s what we’re here to help you do.

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2023 by Tarkenton Institute, Inc. All Rights Reserved | Terms | Privacy