Cleardocs Blog
Subscribe to RSS for this Blog.
Small businesses struggling with employment law
Added: 2010-03-01 11:48:59.0According to new research from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), many SMEs in the UK are struggling with both keeping up to date with employment law and having confidence in implementing policies and procedures.
The BIS’ study, based on responses from 300 business owners showed that:
- only a third (32 per cent) of SMEs feel confident in their understanding of employment law and their role as an employer;
- 20% of businesses understand their obligations, but worry about getting it right; and, perhaps most worryingly;
- 34% of business owners feel that employment law obligations are ‘not relevant’ to their business.
In terms of making sure their business is up to date, 42% of the respondents considered it ‘important’ to be on top of new legislation but a quarter admitted that they let things slide. In fact, 28% said that although they were aware of their obligations, they found it hard to stay on top of changing employment law.
The stats do not make for happy reading when compared with Employment Tribunal claims. For business owners to ensure that they stay out of the Tribunal, keeping up to date with employment legislation could be key.
Following the findings, Employment Relations Minister Lord Young commented; "We know that running a small business is both challenging and rewarding – and that this combination often fuels a successful enterprise. The essential job of managing employment law need not be one of these challenges.
"This study helps us identify the knowledge gap, and the reasons behind this, to enable us to continue to improve the advice and support we offer. I expect all small businesses to access this help for free on the Business Link website to make sure they know their responsibilities."
Male business owners Vs female business owners
Interestingly, the study also looked at the attitudes of male employers and female employers to see whether they differed at all.
The results showed that female employers tend to be better at keeping on top of changes in employment law – with over half 54% stating that they feel it is important that they observe and implement necessary changes. This is compared with 38% of their male counterparts.
When it comes to implementation however, although more women business owners implement the changes than men, 26% and 21% respectively; women employers worry more about not managing the changes correctly. Only 17% of male employers worry about the legislation changes compared to 26% of women employers.
Why worry about it when someone else can take care of it for you?
If you’re reading this, you probably know what Cleardocs can offer. We update your employment documents, for free, every time new employment law is introduced. So you needn’t worry if you are one of our customers.
If you’re not, what are you waiting for? Why worry about it when we can take care of it for you for as little at £49.50 for a staff handbook.
To supplement what Cleardocs will do for your business, its good to keep an eye on what’s going on. This tool in particular from BIS will help you stay on top of Employment law changes that will affect your business: http://www.employmentlaworganiser.org/
If you have any questions about employment law changes or how Cleardocs can help you get some peace of mind, call us on 0845 474 0372 for a chat.
The content of this blog is not legal advice and should not be relied on as such, or used instead of seeking legal advice.
Comments
Added by Cialis on 2010-03-09ScAeiE Excellent article, I will take note. Many thanks for the story!
