1. 4.3 Protecting staff through Legislation 4 P EOPLE IN B USINESS 4.3 L EGISLATION Do you know what your rights are in the workplace? In pairs produce a spider diagram to show what you think are the rights of a worker in the workplace. Rights Safe environment

2. 4.3 P ROTECTING STAFF THROUGH LEGISLATION  In this topic you will learn about  Equal pay and minimum wage  Discrimination  Employment rights  Health and safety 4.3 L EGISLATION The Exam does not require you to know specific laws. It is important that you understand the above areas of law and that you can explain their impact on a small business. What is meant by the term legislation?

3. 4.3 P ROTECTING STAFF THROUGH LEGISLATION  Legislation – laws passed mainly through Acts of Parliament  There are a number of laws that have been enacted in order to protect the rights of the workforce  These will have a significant effect on small businesses 4.3 L EGISLATION Research task Read this article and the related articles on unfair dismissal. In each case decide whether the employee was right to claim unfair dismissal.

4. S AY WHAT YOU SEE 4.3 L EGISLATION

5. E QUAL P AY AND M INIMUM W AGE L AWS  Equal Pay Act 1970 - Men and women must be paid the same pay for the same job.  National Minimum Wage Act 1998 - Firms must pay at least a minimum wage per hour for a job.  Do you know what the rates are? 16-17 year olds 18-21 year olds 22 and over 4.3 L EGISLATION Is the minimum wage high enough to ensure an acceptable standard of living?

6. E QUAL P AY AND M INIMUM W AGE L AWS These laws impact on a small business because:  Wage costs will be higher  Or less jobs will be offered!  Small businesses could be taken to court for ignoring them  The reputation of the firm may suffer if they fail to comply 4.3 L EGISLATION Recap 2.2 What is the relationship between revenue, costs and profits? If wage costs rise what will happen to profits?

7. D ISCRIMINATION  Equal Pay Act 1970 – it is unlawful to discriminate between men and women in terms of pay and working conditions  Sex Discrimination Act 1975 – it is unlawful to discriminate because of a person’s gender or marital status  Disability Discrimination Act 1995 - it is unlawful to discriminate because of a person’s disability. Reasonable adjustments should be made to accommodate disabled people in the workplace e.g. New buildings have lifts  Age Discrimination Act 2006 – it is unlawful to discriminate because of a person’s age.  Race Relations Act 1976 – it is unlawful to discriminate because of race, colour, nationality, ethnicity or religious beliefs 4.3 L EGISLATION The Age Discrimination Act is the most recent of these acts. How does it protect workers against discrimination? Do you agree that it protects the young as well as the old?

8. D ISCRIMINATION 4.3 L EGISLATION These laws impact on a small business because:  Increased costs may arise  Advertising of jobs needs to target all sections of society  The best person should be selected for the post advertised Is it right to positively advertise for under represented groups within a job? What other jobs, traditionally seen as male, do we now see more equally split between genders?

9.  Employment Rights Act 1996 – terms and conditions of employment should be laid out in a single document, called a :  Employment Relations Act 1999 – increased employee rights for union membership, maternity/paternity leave and unfair dismissal  Employment Act 2002 – improved rights for parents 4.3 L EGISLATION E MPLOYMENT R IGHTS _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ / _ _ / _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Should parents be able to share maternity/paternity leave between them? How will these acts increase costs to a business?

10. These laws impact on a small business because:  Over the years they have reduced the power of unions  They have increased costs due to improved holiday, sick and maternity pay for employees  It has become more difficult to dismiss employees without good grounds for doing so 4.3 L EGISLATION E MPLOYMENT R IGHTS What are the costs linked to ignoring employment laws?

11.  Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 – firms must provide for the health and safety of employees in the workplace  Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 – for the first time companies can be found guilty of the manslaughter or murder of an employee through negligence 4.3 L EGISLATION H EALTH AND S AFETY Health and Safety at Work

12. These laws impact on a small business because:  It is important that health and safety is taken seriously in the workplace  Costs will arise due to the implementation of health and safety  There are serious legal implications if a firm fails to ignore health and safety, including heavy fines and jail 4.3 L EGISLATION H EALTH AND S AFETY Visit the Government’s Health and Safety Executive web site. Look at the national statistics and compare these to the statistics for your region? How does your region compare, favourably or adversely?

13. L EGISLATION 4.3 L EGISLATION Ged runs a small farm growing organic fruit and veg. He employs 3 part time staff to help pick his crops, plough the land and package products into vegetable boxes which he sells at the front of the farm. At present he produces more vegetable boxes than he sells so has decided to place an advert in the local paper as shown below: 100 Acre Farm Delivery man required Part time - 2 hours per day Would suit retired gentleman with own car £4.50 per hour Ring Ged for details on 01537 456655 Question time 1.Explain 2 areas of legislation Ged has failed to meet.(6 marks) 2.Explain 2 responsibilities Ged has towards his existing workforce. (6 marks) 3.Explain why it is important for Ged to comply with Legislation. (4 marks)

14. U NIT 4 P EOPLE IN B USINESS  You have now completed the second section of the course – Finance  During this time you will have learnt a lot of new terminology. It is a good idea to write down a glossary of key terms.  See how many technical terms you can think of under each heading  4.1 Recruiting  4.2 Motivating staff  4.3 Protecting staff through legislation  Use your notes to ensure you have a complete list and then write a short definition for each one 4 P EOPLE