2.1.5
Legal Controls Over Employment
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Legal Controls Over Employment
The government can create laws which force businesses to not discriminate between recruits.
Equal opportunities
- Legal controls prevent businesses from discriminating against potential employees based on:
- Gender (the Sex Discrimination Act, 1975).
- Race (the Race Relations Act, 1976).
- Disability.
- Religion.
- Sexual preference.
- Age.
- Through these legal controls, everyone is given an equal opportunity to apply for a job.
- Furthermore, companies are obliged to pay employees who do equal work, equal pay (Equal Pay Act, 1970).
Gender pay gap
- In 2018, medium and large businesses were required to publish information on how much they pay employees.
- This exposed the gender pay gap.
- Out of the 10,000 firms which published their details, 78% paid men more.
- This is largely because men are in higher-paid positions.
- Men also, on the whole, received higher bonuses than women.
Minimum wage
- Under the Employment Protection Act, 1978, all employees must receive a contract in writing. This prevents employees being unfairly dismissed.
- All companies must pay their employees at least the minimum wage.
- In 2018, the minimum wage for over 25s is £7.83 per hour.
- This legislation prevents businesses from exploiting workers.
Other legal controls over employment
- Legal controls also protect employees from unfair dismissal.
- Meaning employees cannot be dismissed without a fair reason such as misconduct, redundancy, or poor performance.
- Health and safety laws require employers to provide a safe working environment, training, and protective equipment.
- One example is the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974).
Effects of legal controls
- Employees benefit from legal protection, fair pay, job security, and equal opportunities.
- Employers face higher compliance costs and must avoid fines or lawsuits.
- But they can also gain a more motivated and loyal workforce.
1Understanding Business Activity
1.1Business Activity
1.2Classification of Businesses
1.3Enterprise, Business Growth & Size
1.3.1Business Aims1.3.2Business Objectives1.3.3Different Businesses Have Different Objectives1.3.4Business Objectives Change Over Time1.3.5End of Topic Test - Business Objectives1.3.6Enterprise1.3.7Risks1.3.8Rewards1.3.9Entrepreneur1.3.10Role of the Entrepreneur1.3.11Encouragement of Enterprise1.3.12Business Plans1.3.13Advantages & Disadvantages of a Business Plan1.3.14The Main Parts of a Business Plan1.3.15Methods of Measuring Business Size1.3.16Business Expansion - Internal Expansion1.3.17Advantages of External Expansion1.3.18Disadvantages of External Expansions1.3.19Small Businesses1.3.20Reasons for Business Failure
1.4Types of Business Organisation
1.4.1Sole Traders1.4.2Partnerships1.4.3Limited Companies1.4.4Private Limited Companies1.4.5Public Limited Companies1.4.6Unlimited vs Limited Liability1.4.7Not For Profit1.4.8Franchising1.4.9End of Topic Test - Business Ownership1.4.10Application Questions - Business Ownership1.4.11Diagnostic Misconceptions - Company vs Business
2People in Business
2.1Human Resource Management (HRM)
2.2Organisation & Management
2.3Methods of Communication
3Marketing
3.1Marketing & the Market
3.2Market Research
3.3Marketing Mix
3.3.1The Product Life Cycle3.3.2Product Design3.3.3Product Portfolio & The Boston Matrix3.3.4Benefits & Risks of New Products3.3.5Extension Strategies3.3.6Price3.3.7Pricing - Skimming & Penetration3.3.8Competitive and Cost-Plus Pricing3.3.9Market Mapping - Price vs Quality3.3.10Place3.3.11Manufacturer-Wholesalers-Retailers-Customers3.3.12Manufacturer-Retailers-Customers3.3.13Direct to Customers3.3.14Promotional Methods3.3.15Reasons for Promotion3.3.16Advertising3.3.17Advertisement - Product Placement3.3.18Public Relations3.3.19Sales Promotion3.3.20Sponsorship3.3.21Social Media3.3.22Promotional Mix3.3.23E-Commerce and M-Commerce3.3.24Benefits & Drawbacks of E-Commerce and M-Commerce3.3.25End of Topic Test - Marketing Mix3.3.26Grade 9 - Marketing Mix3.3.27Diagnostic Misconceptions - Decreasing Price3.3.28Diagnostic Misconceptions - Advertise vs Promote3.3.29Diagnostic Misconceptions - Social Media3.3.30Marketing Strategy3.3.31Entering Foreign Markets
3.4Legal Controls
4Operations Management
4.1Production of Goods & Services
4.2Cost, Scale of Production & Break-Even Analysis
4.3Achieving Quality Production
4.4Location Decisions
5Financial Information & Decisions
5.1Business Finance
5.2Cash Flow Forecast
5.3Profit & Loss
5.4Statement of Financial Position
6External Influences on Business Activity
6.1Economic Issues
6.2Business & the International Economy
6.3Business & the Environment
6.4Business & Ethical Issues
6.5Pressure Groups
Jump to other topics
1Understanding Business Activity
1.1Business Activity
1.2Classification of Businesses
1.3Enterprise, Business Growth & Size
1.3.1Business Aims1.3.2Business Objectives1.3.3Different Businesses Have Different Objectives1.3.4Business Objectives Change Over Time1.3.5End of Topic Test - Business Objectives1.3.6Enterprise1.3.7Risks1.3.8Rewards1.3.9Entrepreneur1.3.10Role of the Entrepreneur1.3.11Encouragement of Enterprise1.3.12Business Plans1.3.13Advantages & Disadvantages of a Business Plan1.3.14The Main Parts of a Business Plan1.3.15Methods of Measuring Business Size1.3.16Business Expansion - Internal Expansion1.3.17Advantages of External Expansion1.3.18Disadvantages of External Expansions1.3.19Small Businesses1.3.20Reasons for Business Failure
1.4Types of Business Organisation
1.4.1Sole Traders1.4.2Partnerships1.4.3Limited Companies1.4.4Private Limited Companies1.4.5Public Limited Companies1.4.6Unlimited vs Limited Liability1.4.7Not For Profit1.4.8Franchising1.4.9End of Topic Test - Business Ownership1.4.10Application Questions - Business Ownership1.4.11Diagnostic Misconceptions - Company vs Business
2People in Business
2.1Human Resource Management (HRM)
2.2Organisation & Management
2.3Methods of Communication
3Marketing
3.1Marketing & the Market
3.2Market Research
3.3Marketing Mix
3.3.1The Product Life Cycle3.3.2Product Design3.3.3Product Portfolio & The Boston Matrix3.3.4Benefits & Risks of New Products3.3.5Extension Strategies3.3.6Price3.3.7Pricing - Skimming & Penetration3.3.8Competitive and Cost-Plus Pricing3.3.9Market Mapping - Price vs Quality3.3.10Place3.3.11Manufacturer-Wholesalers-Retailers-Customers3.3.12Manufacturer-Retailers-Customers3.3.13Direct to Customers3.3.14Promotional Methods3.3.15Reasons for Promotion3.3.16Advertising3.3.17Advertisement - Product Placement3.3.18Public Relations3.3.19Sales Promotion3.3.20Sponsorship3.3.21Social Media3.3.22Promotional Mix3.3.23E-Commerce and M-Commerce3.3.24Benefits & Drawbacks of E-Commerce and M-Commerce3.3.25End of Topic Test - Marketing Mix3.3.26Grade 9 - Marketing Mix3.3.27Diagnostic Misconceptions - Decreasing Price3.3.28Diagnostic Misconceptions - Advertise vs Promote3.3.29Diagnostic Misconceptions - Social Media3.3.30Marketing Strategy3.3.31Entering Foreign Markets
3.4Legal Controls
4Operations Management
4.1Production of Goods & Services
4.2Cost, Scale of Production & Break-Even Analysis
4.3Achieving Quality Production
4.4Location Decisions
5Financial Information & Decisions
5.1Business Finance
5.2Cash Flow Forecast
5.3Profit & Loss
5.4Statement of Financial Position
6External Influences on Business Activity
6.1Economic Issues
6.2Business & the International Economy
6.3Business & the Environment
6.4Business & Ethical Issues
6.5Pressure Groups
Practice questions on Legal Controls Over Employment
Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.
- 1Possible grounds for discrimination in the workplace:Fill in the list
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
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