1. The impact of employment law at the start of the employment relationship.
Employment Relations is defined by David Farnham (2000: xxiii) as “that part of managing people that enables competent managers to balance, within acceptable limits, the interests of employers as buyers of labour services and those of employees as suppliers of labour services in the labour market and workplace”.
The impact of employment law at the start of the employment relationship is profound. The main pieces of legislation to be aware of are:
The Equality Act 2010: At least 7 different Acts and Regulations were incorporated in this act with regards to sex discrimination, race relations, disability discrimination, equal pay, and employment equality with regards to age, sexual orientation and religion or belief.
The Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006.
The Freedom of Information Act 2000.
The Data Protection Act 1998.
The employment relationship is affected by internal and external factors.
Internal Factors include:
Organisational Culture - this concentrates on the behaviour and morals of employees within a company. The culture can have a huge effect on the employment relationship. For example, if there is the ethos of flexible working hours and employee involvement, then it stands to reason that the employees will be more likely to agree to any changes in the terms and conditions of their employment. Leaders have the ability to influence and manage organisational culture. When this is done effectively, employees will express those values positively through their behaviour. Leaders can influence organisational culture and hence employee behaviour.
Pay and Rewards – pay and rewards attract, motivate and retain staff. The employment contract which, amongst other things lists rewards, whether it is pay, bonus or benefits, can remove animosity amongst employees and employers. However, recent
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