Employment law is the thing that regulates the partnership between employers and their employees. It encompasses every part of employment from the hiring process to the very end and the exit process. Its sole purpose is to make sure everyone is treated fairly. Employment law is a complicated process and is full of potential pitfalls. In order to stay ahead of the game, it is worth hiring a lawyer that specializes in this area, like the ones from HKM, who are able to help you navigate the twisting turning waters of employment law. Here is a little introduction to employment law and what may affect you.

Recruitment

When you are recruiting people, all you need to do is hire good people, then you will have little problems later on. However, this is easier said than done. People make instant judgments and have to follow their guts about candidates. This can lead to having to sack a new hire which can lead to legal difficulties. One of the best ways to avoid this is to make sure that your interviewers give everyone a fair chance but also to probe an interviewee if they are just regurgitating information easily found on the internet.

Working time regulations

No matter how much work you need to get done, you need to follow the working time regulations when it comes to working hours, breaks, and paid annual leave. Staff should not be working more than 48 hours a week unless they have agreed to and should have access to see how many hours they have worked. By keeping track of this and keeping everything transparent you can ensure that people are not feeling taken advantage of.

Employees rights

Employees should receive a statement and contract setting out the terms and conditions of their employment. Certain rights may not be written but are often implied. You should try and foster a relationship of trust and confidence with your employees. This can be created by allowing a reasonable amount of privacy, the ability to join a trade union, and the entitlement to stop any employer wrongdoing. Granting these small things can keep up staff morale and prevent legal clashes later on.

Disciplinary procedures

The main thing you should do is to set out transparent disciplinary and grievance procedures for your employees to follow. This will make things easier if you need to let someone go as you will have a written record of just cause for the dismissal. The grievance procedure can also call you to show that you listen to feedback and can act on it should you see something wrong within your company. This can stop you from fighting tough legal battles later.

Employment law

This is not an easy aspect of the law as it constantly evolves and thus you can be caught out. This is why you should seek to hire an employment lawyer who can guide you through these difficult times. Make sure to protect you and your business by complying with the law of your state.