Bizstartup.ie - Start Up Kit

Employers must have a good understanding of their employment obligations and be compliant to legislation to ensure their staff are properly employed from the outset of their appointment such as by:

• Issuing contracts of employment with robust terms and conditions that set out the policies and procedures related to the business
• Fulfilling working time compliance and record-keeping
• Complying with wages legislation – payment and pay slips
• Accurate granting of employees’ leaves from work
• Appropriate retention of employees’ records
• Issuing important polices on discipline, grievances, bullying and harassment, and so on; and
• Ensuring that they treat all employees comparatively.

The types of issues that employers are being faced with on an increasing basis are:

• Non-compliance with their legal requirements as an employer, such as on the matters above
• Not handling matters properly such as probation, redundancy, suspension, discipline or termination of employment
• Not implementing and following a grievance and disciplinary procedure for their business
• Being careful with setting precedents, particularly in a new business.

The types of problems employees could be faced with when their employer does not fulfil their obligations properly can be:

• Not being provided with a written contract of employment, that they can understand, which sets out their terms and conditions of employment to include a grievance and disciplinary procedure if their employment ends
• Problems in the workplace such as discrimination, bullying, intimidation, harassment, and so on
• Related to working hours, wages, holidays, etc.

An employer’s poor handling of their obligations to their staff could leave them very exposed so it is advised to have proper contracts, policies and procedures in place before commencement of employment, from which robust good employer practices should follow.