Are You Coping With New Legislation?

If you were not prepared for the three big pieces of legislation that came into force on Sunday 1^st October then you need to take action now. Almost all small bus iness are affected by at least one of the changes, and most are affected by all three.

The three big pieces of legislation that are now in force are:

1. Fire Safety Regulations

Every business in non-domestic buildings is affected by the new fire safety rules. If you are responsible for business premises, an employer, a charity or a contractor with some control over a business premises you need to act now.

The changes mean that fire certificates are no longer valid, and that you instead need to carry out a complete risk assessment of your premises. The assessment needs to take account of possible fire hazards, dangerous or flammable substances in the premises, as well as the hazards for those at special risk (e.g. Disabled and elderly customers). Once the assessment is complete you need to use it to decide what precautions you can take to remove or minimize the risks.

1. Age Discrimination (Employment) Legislation

Since October 1^st it has been illegal to have compulsory retirement for anyone under the age of 65; and all employers must properly consider requests to work beyond that age.

Recruitment practices need to lose any age-related practices; so that the age of an applicant will not help or prevent them getting a job. This means that recruitment advertising needs to avoid targeting particular age groups; asking for “fresh and energetic” candidate could be seen as discriminating against older workers, while asking for a particular number of year’s worth of experience could be seen as discriminating against younger workers. Promotion activities must also stop being age influenced.

1. National Minimum Wage Increases

From October 1^st the minimum wage for those aged 22 and over has been £5.35 per hour (up from £5.05), the rate for 18-21 year olds is £4.45 per hour (up from £4.25), and the rate for 16-17 year olds is £3.30 per hour (up from £3.00).

With three important pieces of legislation all now into force, you need to make sure that you are dealing for the changes; otherwise you could be left with fines or even worse.