Disciplining & dismissing staff
Unfortunately, despite all your best efforts to find and keep the best people for your business, things don’t always work out. If you find yourself in a position where you need to discipline or even dismiss an employee, making sure you follow all the right procedures will significantly reduce the risk of a costly employment tribunal claim and potential damage to your reputation. Familiarising yourself with the ACAS code of practice and holding a correctly convened meeting, along with the supporting evidence will help show that, not only did you have good reason to dismiss your employee, but that you acted fairly in the way in which you handled the dismissal. Following the removal of tribunal fees in 2017, it is now easier for an employee to bring a claim against their employer, so it is essential that your employment documents are up to date, and disciplinary processes are strictly adhered to.
Documents you might need
Keeping employees & customers safe
Perhaps one of the most derided of all regulations is health & safety. Frequently mocked by the media and consumers as being an example of a ‘nanny state’, health & safety regulations are all the more onerous for small businesses. However, as daily examples demonstrate, non-compliance with the rules can, in some cases be literally fatal – to both employee and business. At the very minimum, every business should carry out a health & safety risk assessment of their workplace and have basic health & safety policies in place. Failure to do so would be negligent and put your employees and business as a whole at risk.