Law firm backs employment legislation

Firms are drawing “much-needed support and confidence” from employment legislation despite a business backlash against red tape, a Huddersfield law firm has claimed.

Baxter Caulfield is backing recently released research from the Department of Business Innovation and Skills (BIS), which asked 40 business owners for their views on employment law. The overwhelming majority said that they feared being taken to an employment tribunal, mainly because they viewed the laws as “unpredictable.”

Baxter Caulfield is now encouraging businesses, particularly new and recent start-ups that are considering taking on new staff, to follow basic rules to avoid disputes about contractual agreements. Businesses are encouraged to put everything in writing and to seek legal advice to ensure that they stay on the right track legally with their employment obligations.

Paul Booth, a partner and employment law expert at Baxter Caulfield, said: “The survey makes for extremely interesting reading as it highlights the fact that there’s a perception reality gap among employers.

“Although limited, the research suggests that many business owners, rather than railing against employment regulations, benefit from well-defined procedures. These workplace rules and regulations often have the effect of helping to reduce anxiety in the sometimes fraught area of employer-employee relations.”

The survey revealed that employers considered employment regulation to be both necessary and fair. The backlash against so-called excessive ‘red tape’ stemmed from a pervasive fear and misunderstanding of the law, it said, and the regulation could avoid unnecessary litigation by formalising disciplinary procedures unless dismissal was being considered.