Over half of SMEs confused about employment law
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A recent survey has found that the majority of SMEs are baffled by employment law jargon.
A survey of 250 business owners by Attest market research for HR and employment law specialist Peninsula discovered that 54% of business owners were baffled by employment law jargon with the majority not understanding terminology such as SSP (Statutory sick pay).
Alan Price, HR Director at Peninsula said: "Employment law is full of legal abbreviations and jargon that can be very confusing. When a small business owner is trying to cover many aspects of a company simultaneously, they may come across terminology they don't recognise or understand; this can lead to incorrect processes being followed with potential costly results for the business."
"From this research, we can see it is a necessity that every business has employment law and HR support in some form as any business that has employees will inevitably have these considerations. Employment law is constantly evolving and covers a huge range of different legislations and acts in relation to the rights of employees, including gender discrimination, minimum wage increases and health and safety to name but a few. Keeping up with these changes can be hard for a business with no employment law/HR function however lack of knowledge of the law is no defence and can lead to devastating consequences for a business"
"In these challenging and unstable economic times businesses need to run efficiently and effectively in order to survive and grow, it is more important than ever to make sure they have a clean bill of legal health. This means keeping on top of employment legislation and jargon as well as having the relevant support around you."
Everything you need at your fingertips
Every ActSmart subscriber can now take the headache out of employment issues by using the professionally produced and constantly updated employment manual provided through our partnership with DAS.
The free online employment manual covers 3 key areas:
- Pre-Employment - covers the recruitment process so you can get the right people first time. Includes sample application forms and job description templates
- Employment - keep up to date with all the basics of employment law and employee rights
- Termination of Employment - covers issues such as disciplinary hearings, notice rights, fair/unfair dismissals and health issues
The Appendices provides templates of policy documents and forms which you can download and use in your own business.
If you have any queries regarding employment or the online manual please contact us.