02 Aug Navigating Employment Legislation
Employment legislation is a complex and ever-changing area of UK law. From GDPR to the Equality Act, from the National Minimum Wage to Agency Worker Regulations, the rules are in place to protect candidates, recruitment agents and employers alike. But keeping on top of the constant changes can be time-consuming and difficult. Here we look at how recruitment agents can ensure they maintain compliance with the help of an umbrella company.
What employment laws are there?
There are numerous laws that pertain to employment and which seek to protect the rights of workers. The very first example of employment law came in 1833 when the Factory Act was passed to improve the working conditions of children. Since then employees in the UK have increasingly had their rights protected and can now expect fair and equal treatment, regardless of their status, from the moment they first see a job advert to the day they leave their employment.
The range of laws which relate specifically to recruitment include:
- The Equality Act 2010 makes it illegal to discriminate against a candidate on the grounds of age, race, religion, disability, gender reassignment, sex or sexual orientation
- The Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 means that employers must carry out ‘Right to Work’ checks on all applicants
- A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Check should be carried out if the candidate is applying for a job that entails working with children, the elderly or other vulnerable groups
- The Data Protection Act 2018 protects workers from the misuse of their data before, during and after the recruitment process.
As a recruiter it’s your job to stay on top of current legislation and to ensure that you’re up to date on all aspects of employment law. However, when you partner with an umbrella company you can also rest assured that you’re complying with various other hugely-important pieces of legislation too.
How can an umbrella company help you stay compliant?
Some employment laws relate specifically to umbrella companies and their relationship with contractors. If you’re not a specialist umbrella provider these laws can be difficult and confusing, let alone time-consuming, and it’s vital that they’re understood to avoid legal and financial ramifications for recruiters.
That’s where an umbrella partner can put your mind at rest. We take on the responsibility of understanding, interpreting and implementing these pieces of legislation because it’s our job and our specialty.
All these additional responsibilities would be extremely onerous to a responsible and conscientious recruitment agent if they were to deal with them all themselves. But thankfully, when they partner with a compliant umbrella company, that’s all taken care of.
Here at i4 we’re extremely proud of our record of complete compliance with all current UK legislation, and frequently update our policies and procedures to reflect the changing nature and emphasis of UK employment law. When you partner with us, either as a payroll provider or as a contractor employer, we can help you navigate the troublesome waters of employment legislation and, thanks to our knowledgeable and dedicated service experts, are on hand to answer any questions you might have regarding this tricky but vital area.
If you’d like to know more about partnering with us and benefiting from our vast knowledge of employment law so that you don’t have to, you can call us on 0203 603 1290, email us at hello@i4services.uk, or drop us a message via the contact form here.