Employment Law: the Basics

1. Recruitment

1.1 Do not allow prejudice (conscious or unconscious) to affect your decisions.

• Discrimination on a number of grounds is illegal. For example race, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion or philosophical belief (see 4).
• Focus only on the requirements of the job when hiring people.
• Maintain records, so you can explain why you chose one candidate over another. Remember that applicants can request to see any interview notes.

1.2 A contract of employment exists as soon as a candidate accepts your offer of a job, whether it is in writing or not (see Employment contracts).

• Make it clear at the interview that you are not offering a job at that stage.
• In any job-offer letter, explain that the contract will be governed by written terms and conditions to be provided later.
• A contract can be conditional on the potential employee providing evidence of suitability - such as adequate references. If the condition is not met and the employee has not yet started work, the contract does not take effect.

1.3 You must provide a written statement of terms and conditions within the first two months of employment.

• This must cover specified areas including pay, working hours, holiday entitlement, job title (or job description) and place of work.
• Include a statement that you reserve the right to amend the job description.
• Reserve the right to change your employee's place of work. Otherwise, you would be in breach of contract if the business was relocated.
• Make sure the disciplinary procedure conforms to the new statutory minimum requirements (see Discipline and grievance issues). The grounds for which employees can be dismissed include gross misconduct (see Dismissing employees) and being off work for a given period through ill health (but see Discrimination). The contract may state that in cases of summary dismissal (dismissal without notice) no compensation will be payable except for an amount for accrued holiday under the working time regulations.

1.4 You cannot change the terms of the contract unilaterally.

• Altering fundamental terms and conditions without the employee's consent can be a breach of contract. Unless the change benefits the employee you could be sued for constructive dismissal, breach of contract, or both.