Drug and Alcohol Policies: Employment Legislation You Should Follow When Starting Up a Business

If there is no legal requirement to understand employment law when starting up a business, then not only can it seem like it is impossibly vast and opaque but there is an odd chance that you could become caught out down the line by an unfair dismissal charge or breach of contract claim. Cases like this could lead to you having to pay out large compensation claims or being subject to court orders or some other potentially profit damaging situation.

The first thing to be aware of is what the legal structure of your business is going to have. This decision determines the amount of tax you need to pay, the ways you can raise funds, the records you will have to keep and the way management decisions have to be taken. These structures range from franchises to limited liability partnerships to social enterprises.

When you begin to hire people as an employer you will need to register as an employer if the person you are hiring is receiving a state pension, is employed by another company or if you are providing them with benefits. When hiring employees it is important to realise that contracts are legal documents and must take into account the law involving the Minimum Wage, the number of working hours you can make employees work without their permission and that they are protected from unfair dismissal.

You will also need to follow the legal guidelines set out for employers when it comes to paternity and maternity leave, equality and diversity in the workplace, internal grievance procedures and dismissals, pay and redundancy, protections for whistleblowers and your company’s drug and alcohol policies. You need to ensure that in the application and hiring process you judge applicants solely on merit or else you might be contravening the Equality Act. The Trade Union and Labour Relations Act sets out the relationship and collective responsibilities that bind employers and trade unions to employees.

If you are unsure about the law in any of these areas it will be worth seeking expert legal advice, because not only is this body of law complex but it is also ever changing. As a new business owner you want to be able to navigate the tricky first couple of years with as little legal complication as possible. If you can show your new employees that you follow the law to the letter it will inspire confidence in your leadership abilities and the business as a whole.

Related Drug And Alcohol Policies Information…