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Employment Laws Compliance Can Prevent Undesirable Results

These laws are intended to protect employees from bad treatment by their employers.

What are these Employment Laws?
The laws address matters including working hours, working conditions, pay or wage during hospitalization, and even cover foreign workers. One concern is workplace safety and the appointment of people who are experts in this field.

These laws also concern discrimination in the workplace based on race, gender, belief, age, or disability. These may impose standards on employers on benefits, such as health insurance, group insurance covering cases of personal accident and death or injuries in the course of performing work.

These laws vary from country to country. Depending on how extensive or the objectives of these laws, employee-employer relationship may swing in favor of one or the other. In a common market, the laws in member countries may give way to laws applicable to every member-country.

Sources of HR Legal Obligations
It is essential that your organization conducts an 'HR due diligence' exercise to ensure compliance with the existing employment laws.

Failure to follow provisions of the law is expensive in terms of money, time and negative publicity when your organization is dragged before the law courts.

Pay particular attention to sources of legal obligations including:

1. Employment contract which is either formal (written) or informal (oral agreement)
   

2. Essential terms and conditions including:
   2.1. Salary / wages
   2.2. Annual leave
   2.3. Confidential information
   2.4. Duties and responsibilities (including supervisory responsibilities)
   2.5. Hours of work
   2.6. Work location and transfer / secondment terms
   2.7. Promotion policy and produces
   2.9. Discipline policy and procedures
   2.10.Bonuses
   2.11.Overtime pay
   2.12.Superannuation
   

3. Statutes governing labor and employment
   

4. Statutory Agreements
   
   An example is a collective agreement which is usually governed by the Trade Unions Act effective in the mother or adopted country of the organization.

5. Awards by state or federal tribunals
   
   These usually indicate the minimum terms and conditions of employment.

6. The common law which is case law developed by the court system.
   

The majority of these laws cover the area of employment contracts.

As stated elsewhere in this site, these include:

• Recruitment and Selection
  
• Human Right and Equal Employment Opportunities
  
• Job advertisement
  
• The Job Interview
  
• Occupational Health and Safety Requirements
  

Dismissal and Termination
Dismissal and termination are serious matters. This is why employment laws specify clear guidelines when and how organizations can do so.

New Employment Laws
Laws are being created all the time. Statutory laws are made by legislatures. The courts continue to create laws pertaining to HR matters when cases are brought before them for deliberation.

It is impossible to keep up-to-date on all the laws. Your legal advisers need to see to it that your organization always complies with the law.

As executives, at least get to know well the main provisions of the law governing human resource management.

Comply with Employment Laws
Your organization's activities are subject to the laws of the country where it carries out its business activities.

For example, the information at this link give an indication of the extent and scope of the law.
http://www.dol.gov/compliance/guide/

Avoid Breaking the Law
In order to ensure that no legal provision is broken, it is essential that you equip yourself with a good understanding of employment and human resource laws