Employment law is an important part of running a business in the UK. From recruitment to termination, employers must adhere to specific laws and regulations to ensure their employees are treated fairly and equitably.
In this blog post, we'll talk about the four most important parts of UK employment law: recruitment, pay, discrimination, and health and safety. We'll also give examples of how businesses can follow these rules.
Learn more by watching the video and reading the blog post below:
Recruitment
Recruitment is the process of finding and hiring new employees. It's important to make sure the hiring process is fair and open to everyone. Under UK employment law, you can't be treated differently because of your age, gender, race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or any other protected trait.
For example, if a business advertises a job vacancy on its website and specifies that they are looking for a candidate who is "young and energetic." This job ad could be seen as unfair to older workers, which could lead to a claim of discrimination against the business.
Pay
Pay is a critical area of employment law that includes the minimum wage, overtime pay, and equal pay.
For example, the UK Government has announced the rates of the National Living Wage (NLW) and National Minimum Wage (NMW) which will come into force from April 2023 and can be seen in the image below:
(Source - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/minimum-wage-rates-for-2023)
But employers should also be aware of other things that can affect an employee's pay, such as bonuses, commission, and holiday pay.
For example, if a business hires a man and a woman to do the same job, but the woman gets paid less than the man. This could lead to a claim of discrimination for different pay.
Discrimination
Discrimination is an area of employment law that prohibits treating employees or job applicants unfairly based on their age, gender, race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or any other protected characteristic. Direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, harassment, and victimisation are all types of discrimination.
For example, if a business refuses to hire a job applicant because they are pregnant. This is direct discrimination, and the business could be sued for discrimination.
Health and safety
Health and safety is a crucial area of employment law that aims to protect employees from harm in the workplace. Employers have to do what they can to make sure the workplace is safe and free of dangers. Employers must also provide their workers with the right training and safety gear.
For example, when employees are working in dangerous conditions, if the business doesn't give them protective clothing and tools. This could cause an employee to have an accident or get hurt, which could lead to a lawsuit against the business.
In conclusion, UK employment law is a complicated area that employers must understand to make sure they treat their workers fairly and legally. By paying attention to the four key areas of recruitment, pay, discrimination, and health and safety, businesses can protect themselves and their employees from legal action and create a positive workplace culture.
