Recruitment in business - OCRThe impact of current legislation on recruitment and employment

When recruiting new staff, employers need to make sure that they are complying with any relevant government legislation during each stage of the process.

While recruiting new staff

During this stage, businesses must consider the Equality Act (2010), which requires employers to treat people fairly and not discriminate in any way. This means, for example, that a business cannot advertise a vacancy as only being open to people under the age of 30.

Once new staff are employed

When an employee starts a new job, the Employment Rights Act (1996) requires that they are provided with a written statement outlining the details of their employment within two months of them starting. This written statement must include basic details, such as:

• the job title and place of work
• the date the employment started
• the hours of work
• the salary or wage

The Working Time Regulations (2003) regulates the amount of time employees are required to work. It places a responsibility on businesses to ensure that staff have:

• a maximum working week of 48 hours, on average
• a minimum of 5.6 weeks paid annual leave
• at least a 20-minute break if working longer than six hours
• a minimum of one day off each week