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Employment law is a growing concern for small and medium-sized businesses and a minefield for their owners and managers. In 2006, potentially explosive regulations on age discrimination and maternity leave were introduced. It is hardly surprising that, in recent years, there has been an increase in the number of employers facing disputes with their employees.
Many smaller firms struggle to find the right advice that is catered specifically for them and not those bigger businesses, complete with Human Resources departments. As a consequence, they can feel overwhelmed and unsupported.
In response, the Forum of Private Business (FPB) has launched the eighth edition of its Employment Guide, produced to ease the burden for employers and help prevent costly tribunals. Len Collinson, National Chairman of the FPB, says that employment law can be a real nightmare for smaller firms.
“The owners and managers of small and medium-sized businesses rely on informality and closeness to employees in the running of their firm,” he said. “Employment regulations tend to mean paperwork, records and outside interventions.”
The complex nature of rules and regulations that must be adhered to, often to a degree difficult for a smaller company with limited resources, means there is a greater risk of non-compliance, even with the best intentions.
The FPB’s Employment Guide, now into its eighth edition, offers tips to help implement the law in your workplace. Produced in conjunction with the TUC, the Guide provides information from recruitment through to dismissal, to help small businesses avoid industrial tribunals and unfair dismissal claims, and maintain positive workplace relations.
“The FPB’s guide is especially useful because it is put together in a way that recognises the problems and opportunities of running a smaller business,” added Len Collinson.
The Guide includes a CD-Rom containing easy-to-use letter and contract templates to help employers maintain the right balance with employees, and make your business more secure and more profitable in the process.
For more information about the FPB’s Employment Guide, visit www.fpb.org or call 0845 130 1722.
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