Employment law top concern for business owners

EMPLOYMENT law was the single biggest issue for business owners calling the Forum of Private Business’s legal helpline last month.

The organisation’s most recent legal helpline figures – for a five week period between September and October – show that 65% of calls were queries about employment law.

This dwarfs the next biggest issue – ‘general business enquiries’ – which prompted just 14% of calls from members. The terms and conditions of business contracts came third, comprising 10% of all legal helpline calls.

Phil Orford, chief executive of the FPB, said: “As with much of the legislation affecting small businesses, employment law can be a huge minefield and one of the main problems is that it is constantly changing, with new regulations coming in all the time.

“For example, some of the biggest recent changes came with the Agency Workers Regulations Act, which came into force in October along with a raft of other legal developments. The Act effectively gives temporary workers the same rights as permanent staff, significantly changing the requirements of business owners who rely on the flexible labour market.

“While the burdens of employment law remain in place, keeping up with the changes and putting in place watertight procedures should remain a key priority. It is important to know your responsibilities – and act accordingly so you don’t fall foul of the law.”

The FPB has recently launched a new employment guide, which covers every aspect of employment law and takes into account all the changes which came in to force in October. It includes 70 customisable employment law templates and comes in a ‘comply as you complete’ format.

The guide, which is available online or as a hard copy, is included in the Forum’s Practical Employer package, which is provided as part of the organisation’s HR business support solution.