When you’re an employer, you have a responsibility to you employees. They have their rights that are backed up by law. And it’s in everyone’s interest that you, as an employer, understand the basics of employment law. There are some key pieces of advice that can help prevent you from getting in trouble with the law in this regard. So, read on now.
Every Employee Has Statutory Rights
Every person that your business employs has a set of statutory rights. These are written into law and have to be respected. So, ensure that you brush up on these statutory rights. This should be done before you even hire someone. There is no excuse for breaking these rights, and doing so could leave to criminal prosecutions in some cases. For example, you can’t pay people below the minimum wage or deprive them of their paid holidays. Those are just two examples of the kinds of laws out there, so learn about all of them.
Safety in the Workplace is Key
Safety in the workplace is one of the biggest factors of all that matters in terms of employment law. As an employer, you have a duty of care towards the people who work for you. If you do not provide a working environment that allows people to do their job safely, then you’ll face a lawsuit. So, one of the simplest ways of ensuring that you avoid lawsuits is to make the office safe. Carry out regular health and safety checks and do everything you can to improve office safety. You also need to provide the correct safety equipment to anyone who is doing a dangerous job.
Having Legal Advice is a Good Idea
Having constant support from a lawyer is always a good idea. This can help you to avoid problems that can arise in the workplace. As they say, prevention is always better than cure. So, if you can stop mistakes being made and employment laws being broken, you will also prevent lawsuits. That’s what matters most of all because those kinds of legal battles can be very costly indeed. And you really don’t want to get involved with them if you can help it. Mark Reynolds Solicitors know all there is to know about employment law. So, get the help you need.
Always Try to Negotiate Settlements When Problems Arise
If something does go wrong in the workplace, no matter what it is, an employee might threaten level action. This is to be expected if your business acted unlawfully in some way. If you know that you or another manager in the business did something that broke an employment law, admit it. Pretending that you never did anything wrong when that’s not true will only be damaging. If you can admit what wrong and then work towards a settlement, things will be smoother. In most cases, this should allow you to avoid having to appear in court. And that alone can prevent you paying large court and legal fees.
