2.1.1 Legislation Flashcards
What is legislation?
A set of rules that governs the way society operates. It is another term for ‘law’.
What is employment law?
refers to any piece of government legislation designed to protect employees from exploitation.
What are the areas of employment legislation that form the basis of employee rights in the workplace?
● Recruitment
● Pay
● Discrimination
● Health and safety
What is the area around recruitment, in the employment legislation, designed to do?
● What employers can and cannot do when recruiting staff,
● What their responsibilities are once a job offer has been made.
What is the area around pay, in the employment legislation, designed to do?
● Covers pay
● Designed to ensure that the pay workers receive is above a set minimum level
What is the area around discrimination i,n the employment legislation, designed to do?
● Ensure that employers treat all people fairly
What is the area around health and safety, in the employment legislation, designed to do?
● Keep employees safe while they are at work
Benefits of employment legislations.
● Ensures employees are treated fairly so that they wont leave due to mistreatment.
● Prevents conflict + stops businesses from getting bad reputations/in trouble with the law
● Guidelines on how you should treat employees
● Ethical
● Motivates employees
● Less likelihood of industrial unrest (strikes)
Drawbacks of employment legislation.
● Must pay employees even when not working (maternity leave) increasing costs
● May need to get temporary employees to replace non-working employees increasing costs
● Redundancy can create a bad reputation + repel new workers - people wont want to work there if the job is not secure
● If law is ignored, will be taken to court
● Increases costs
● Takes time and effort to monitor
What are two legislations that you need to be aware of for employment law?
● The Equality Act 2010
● National Minimun Wage 1998/The National Living Wage
What does SPICED stand for?
Strong
Pound makes
Imports
Cheaper and
Exports
Dearer
What does WPIDEC stand for?
Weak
Pound makes
Imports
Dearer but
Exports
Cheaper
What does The Equality Act 2010 do?
● legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society
What are the 3 types of legislations?
- employment law.
- health and safety law
- consumer law.
What is meant by the term “discrimination”?
Treating one person differently from another without good reason to do so.
What is meant by the term “national living wage”?
An hourly rate of pay which is set by the government.
What is meant by the term “piece-rate pay/piecework”?
A system under which employees are paid a fixed amount for each unit of output that is produced.
E.g. Apple picker may be paid £4 for each box of apples they pick.
What factors may cause discrimination?
- age.
- gender.
- religion.
- disability.
- race.
- sexual orientation.
What is meant by the term “contract of employment”?
A legal document stating the hours, rate of pay, duties and other conditions under which a person is employed.
What is meant by the term “trade union”?
A group of workers who act together to improve their pay and working conditions.
What is meant by the term “unfair dismissal”?
Ending a person’s contract of employment without good reason.
What is meant by the term “motivation”?
The range of factors which influence the way a person behaves at work.
What 5 main areas does the Consumer Rights Act, 2015 law cover?
- the product or service
- returns
- repairs and replacement
- delivery
What is a disadvantage of the Consumer Law on a business?
Increase costs of production as they will have to ensure products are safe, perhaps by using expensive resources.
What is an advantage of the Consumer Law on a business?
Consumers can be more confident that products have been manufactured to a high level of quality and quality.
