What Small Business Owners Need To Know About Taking on Staff
All business owners know the importance of doing things the right way. Crossing all the T’s and dotting all the I’s, so to speak. It is not always easy, especially for new business owners, to know exactly what needs to be done once a team starts to expand. For any small business that is growing and needing to take on staff, follow our simple rules on the most important elements of employment law that you need to know.
Job Discrimination
Job discrimination can be a problem for any business owner if they fall on the wrong side of this law. Job discrimination involves anything from discrimination in hiring, firing or pay based on a person’s religion, race, sex of country of origin. So all companies need to be careful to never fall outside the parameters of this employment law by treating all employees fairly and equally and ensure that all managers are also adhering to this law.
Overtime & Minimum Wage
All companies also need to make sure that they are adhering to laws regarding overtime and minimum wage. If you are unsure about these laws then you will want to contact an employment specialist like, Wilson Browne, who will be able to talk you through the specifics. However in a nutshell, the law states that any work done over 40 hours should be compensated for with time-and-a-half overtime pay. It also sets the minimum wage pay that companies need to be adhering to and it limits the amount of time that teenagers should be working, so these are areas that all business owners should be completely knowledgeable about.
Family Leave
When taking on staff another employment law that you need to be aware of is that of family leave. The law states that those that have worked within a company for one year are eligible to take up to 12 weeks, per year, leave off work for the birth of a child or to care for themselves or a sick child, parent or spouse. This time falls into the category of ‘job protected’ so when employees ask for time off work make sure you are listening carefully to the situation and establishing arrangements that fit within the perimeter of this law.
Gender Pay Differences
This is an incredibly important law these days and one which is being closely monitored, so it deserves special attention. The Equal Pay Act (EPA) states that employers can’t pay male staff more than female staff for a job when the skill, effort and responsibility requires equal levels of work from both females and males.
Workplace Safety
The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OHSA) stated the employers have to run a business that is well protected from recognised hazards and common dangers. Therefore all business owners should all be working towards providing a completely safe work environment for their staff in order to protect them and the company from any number of hazards. You may wish to work with someone like this Safety consulting service to make sure that your safety protocols and training are fully complaint with OSHA so that your employees are properly protected.
Employment law takes a little time to fully understand, so all business owners need to make sure that they are spending time getting their heads around the above laws in order to make sure that their staff and their companies are completely protected.
