The UK Government is well practiced at the art of introducing new laws which at times seems to be their favourite pastime. However, add to this the raft of directives emanating from the EU and it would be truly amazing if employers and their workforce could keep abreast of all developments. Regrettably, there are invariably severe penalties for breaches of the laws and changes to laws introduced, which means we have to make an effort to comply.
Below in an effort to assist, are one or two of the latest new laws and changes to existing legislation:-
1. The Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform informs us that with effect from the 26th May 2008, the UK will adopt the Unfair Commercial Practice Directive which aims to add to current EU standards whilst introducing new ones. The object is to boost consumer confidence. The main object of the law is to stop businesses from misleading consumers by act or omission as well as banning aggressive commercial practices on all customers, and in particular, vulnerable customers. High pressure sales techniques are banned. Businesses are also breaking the law if they present themselves falsely with such things as invented favourable reviews, either in print, or on line. There is a black list of unfair practices including false prize claims, direct sales attempts to children, pyramid selling and many others. The full black list can be found at www.eubusiness.com/SMEs/unfair-commercial -practices.
2. The Immigration National and Asylum Act 2006 came into force and the need for care in avoiding the employment of illegal immigrants has never been higher. Fines can be up to £10,000 but, bear in mind that this is for each illegally employed person so where, wittingly or unwittingly, a number of employees are concerned, the amount involved in fines can be very significant. In fact if an illegal immigrant is knowingly employed, a prison sentence of up to 2 years is a possibility. Employers should therefore, amongst other things, check Birth Certificates and/or Driving Licences and/or National Insurance records and/or Passports. It is important that this procedure is carried out with all prospective employees to avoid accusations of discrimination.
3. On the 6th April 2008, The Corporate Manslaughter And Corporate Homicide Act (2007) was introduced which applies to all Companies. If a Company, which generally means its Management, is guilty of a serious failure of duty of care to an employee resulting in their death, very serious penalties can result from very serious criminal charges of corporate manslaughter. When considering criminal charges under this Act, the Crown Prosecution Service will look at a number of factors including Risk Assessments on the use of machinery or methods of working to name just two. Health and Safety Appraisals which take into account Risk Assessment should be not only carried out but recorded. This can be a time consuming job but there are professional organisations who specialise in providing this service and if this concerns you, contact Bradshaw Bennett and we will happily introduce you to one of the organisations we use. When a Health and Safety Policy and Risk Assessment has been carried out, these should be communicated to all staff, and please bear in mind that they should be reviewed and updated regularly with the date of the last review clearly illustrated.
4. The maximum compensation award for a normal unfair dismissal case has been increased from £60,600 to £63,000 which, together with the maximum statutory redundancy payment for unfair dismissal of £9,900 means that the total maximum dismissal award now stands at £72,900.
The above are just one or two of the developments in legislation affecting businesses in the UK. Keeping abreast of all these is a nightmare and hazarding a guess, few businesses will have escaped unwittingly breaking the law in some way. If that happens and a legal challenge is made on an individual or a company, legal assistance is invariably required and that can be expensive. However, a DAS Legal Expenses policy tailored specifically for businesses and individual directors and members of staff is the best form of protection when such events occur. Add to this the 24-hour 365 days a year legal helpline which is free of charge when a legal expenses policy with DAS has been arranged, and it seems to us that this is a must in this current day and age. Bradshaw Bennett will happily arrange such protection if required so please do contact us.
