Employment Law for small businesses

Being aware of the basic requirements of Employment Law can reduce the risk of finding yourself in an Employment Tribunal.

Employment Law is in place to protect employees’ rights but, by simply being aware of the basic requirements, small businesses can avoid falling foul of the numerous and often complex legislation. This will reduce the risk of finding yourself in the Employment Tribunal and the worry of having to pay compensation to a former employee as well as legal fees in fighting the claim.

During a downturn in your business the last item on the agenda is spending time and money on keeping up to date with Employment Law which seems to change every year. However, it can save you a lot of time in the long run because if you do not comply with the current legislation then you run the risk of finding yourself defending a claim in an Employment Tribunal.

From February 1st 2010 an Employment Tribunal can award up to £65,300 in compensation in respect of a claim for Unfair Dismissal

Naturally, during a downturn in the economic market you want to put your time and energy into making sure that your business not only survives but also grows. We come across a lot of small businesses who have only a few employees, whether it is a shop, restaurant or builder who do not have the time to spend in making sure that their Employment Contracts comply with the current legislation or that they have the correct procedures in place to deal with both employee’s grievances and, should it come to it, disciplinary matters.

Unfortunately, we usually see a lot of small businesses when things have been dealt with incorrectly and they are facing a claim for Unfair Dismissal in the Employment Tribunal. This can happen even if you have a perfectly valid reason for dismissing an employee but simply have not followed the correct procedure.

This can be avoided if you have a procedure in place to deal with any disciplinary action which you need to take. From 1 February 2010 an Employment Tribunal can award up to £65,300 in compensation in respect of a claim for Unfair Dismissal.

We also see a surprisingly large number of small businesses who do not have Employment Contracts in place. Are you aware that it is a requirement for you to give your employee written terms and conditions within 2 months of them starting their employment for your business?

If you do not comply with this simple requirement and the employee makes any claim in the Employment Tribunal then they can be awarded up to 4 weeks wages in addition to any other award of compensation because you did not provide a written contract of employment. In 2008/2009 the Employment Tribunals accepted 3,919 claims from employees who did not have written terms and conditions.

Similarly, if you do not have a disciplinary procedure in place you risk an employee making a claim in the Employment Tribunal for Unfair Dismissal. The Employment Tribunals accepted 52,711 claims for Unfair Dismissal in 2008/2009 and awarded an average of £7,959 in compensation.

This is where we can help

Let us help you to avoid the pitfalls and an appearance in the Employment Tribunal.
We know that spending time now in ensuring that your business complies with the current legislation can save a lot of time and money in the long term.

Contact us to discuss drafting basic terms and conditions for your employees and for our advice on what other procedures should be in place to help in the smooth running of your business.

Alternatively, contact us to review your Employment Contracts, grievance procedure, disciplinary procedure and redundancy procedure to make sure that they comply with the current requirements.

By having someone on your side and having the correct procedures in place you can give yourself time to get on with what you do best - running your business.

By Mary Groves, Solicitor, Ascot Lawyers.
Contact Mary for assistance on 01344 383233

Meet the Ascot Lawyers team Contact our Employment team Main Employment section

What would you like to do now?

Meet the team Read what our clients say about us Contact us Return to the home page

Employment Law for small businesses

This is where we can help

Other Employment Law articles

What would you like to do now?