Employment law

Employment law sets the rules employers must follow about recruitment, pay, discrimination and health and safety. These are employment law duties, not consumer law matters.

Fair recruitment and pay

Fair recruitment means every applicant is judged on their ability to do the job. A garden centre hiring a weekend assistant should use the same job description for every candidate, ask similar interview questions and keep a record of why the successful person was chosen. This stops decisions being based on personal dislike or prejudice.

Employers must pay workers at least the National Minimum Wage, the legal minimum for their age. If a small print shop employs a 17-year-old apprentice, it must check which rate applies to apprentices and never pay below it.

Discrimination

Discrimination is treating someone less favourably because of a personal characteristic. It is illegal to discriminate against job applicants or employees on grounds such as religion, gender, age or pregnancy. For example, if you ran a bike repair shop you must not write 'someone young and energetic' in a job advert, and you must not pay two mechanics different rates for the same job because one is a man and one is a woman.

Health and safety

Employers must provide a safe working environment, safe equipment and safe systems of work. A joinery workshop should check its saws, repair faulty guards and set a clear routine for using machines safely.

They must also give health and safety training and keep records and procedures, including accident logs, fire plans and first-aid arrangements. Records show what has gone wrong so hazards can be fixed before someone is hurt, and fire and first-aid plans tell workers what to do in an emergency.