Wholesale sector – Useful Employment Law & HR
information
RBS
Mentor can help your
wholesale business with its Employment Law compliance and HR
needs.
You’ll rely on casuals and agency workers when things get
busy
Wholesale businesses are in the front line of handling seasonal
peaks and troughs and you’ll need extra help to handle things at
peak periods.
You might use casual staff – but do you understand what
employment rights they have? If you use agency workers, do you know
that such workers have increased rights to parity with your
permanent staff after 12 weeks’ service?
Getting these things wrong can be costly – because you may find
it difficult to dismiss your temporary staff or be liable for the
difference in pay between agency and permanent staff.
You should:
- Review your use of temporary and casual workers, and ensure
they have fit for purpose contracts
- Ensure all workers have entitlement to 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday,
as required under Working Time regulations
- Consider how your business uses agency workers and where
possible avoid long-term use that triggers parity rights.
RBS
Mentor can provide:
- Contracts of employment tailored to the needs of your
business
- Online holiday recording on MentorLive
- 24/7 Advice and support on matters such as the operation of the
Agency Workers’ regulations.
You put a lot of trust in your drivers – but can you deal with
it effectively if things go wrong?
Drivers are likely to be one of your most valuable resources.
They might do much of their work alone and you put a lot of trust
in them that they will do the job properly. You might have
satellite tracking systems to help you to locate them. What happens
however, when goods go missing, or drivers aren’t where they are
supposed to be? Unclear rules and inadequate disciplinary
procedures could make any dismissal unfair, and you may not be able
to use evidence gathered through surveillance if you haven’t
complied with data protection rules.
You should:
- Have clear disciplinary rules, setting out what you expect of
your employees
- Ensure staff are aware of monitoring systems, such as satellite
tracking and CCTV, so that data can be used in disciplinary
proceedings if necessary
- Always follow proper disciplinary procedures, including taking
time to investigate all evidence, before dismissing employees.
RBS
Mentor can provide:
- An Employee Handbook containing conduct rules and procedures
appropriate to your business
- Guidance on monitoring and data protection requirements
- 24/7 telephone advice to help you deal with things such as
disciplinary issues and staff grievances.
Young workers have special protections by law
Young workers often cut their teeth in the wholesale sector,
where their energy and flexibility can be valuable.
However, young workers have particular legal protection, which
includes limits on their working hours, restrictions on working at
night, and restrictions on the work they are permitted to do.
Breaching these requirements is a criminal offence and could leave
your business facing a substantial fine.
You should:
- Ensure you understand the limits on young workers’ working time
and night work
- Keep appropriate records to show you are complying with the
law
- Always pay at least the appropriate rate of the National
Minimum Wage.
RBS
Mentor can provide:
- “How To” guidance on MentorLive about employing young
people
- 24/7 telephone advice on matters including young workers’ legal
entitlements