Employment law untangled

Nov 2 2005 By Samantha Parker, Daily Post

THE Forum of Private Business, which represents 25,000 businesses, has set up a partnership with leading Liverpool law firm Mace & Jones.

The decision to form a dual employment law campaign is in response to feedback from FPB members who rank employment law as the second biggest barrier to growth, after tax.

The FPB dealt with over 97,000 tribunal claims in 2004 ranging in scope from unfair dismissal to disability discrimination.

Nick Goulding, chief executive of FPB, said: "The vast majority of calls to our member helpline are from worried business owners caught in the complex web of employment law.

"With the specialist help of Mace & Jones solicitors we want to emphasise to businesses the critical importance of knowing the law and following it to the letter.

"We hope to show businesses that through professional preparation they can protect themselves from employees exploiting the law, which is frequently unfairly biased towards the employee."

Employment law is constantly being changed and reviewed by government bodies. The FPB produces a TUC-approved employment law manual for businesses, to help ensure they stay on the right side of the new laws. The manual is endorsed by the Small Firms Enterprise Development Initiative.

The FPB fights for fair treatment of private businesses by decision-makers and supports the profitable growth of members. It is the only full UK member of UEAPME, the organisation that represents small and medium sized enterprises in Europe, and is a prominent advocate for UK small businesses in Brussels.

The partnership with Mace & Jones should enable the FPB to help companies deal more effectively with new employment laws, which in turn will lead to steady growth in the small business sector.

Martin Edwards, head of employment law at Mace & Jones said: "The aim of our campaign is to help business people not only to be good employers, but also to avoid wasting a great deal of time and money. The new procedural rules have made employment law excessively complicated.

"In partnership with the FPB, we are guiding a large number of SMEs safely through the maze."