Business Law and Ethics: Key Concepts and Applications

The assignment provided is a detailed study guide on business law and ethics. It covers various topics such as intellectual property rights, corporate governance, business ethics, and legal frameworks for business operations. The guide also includes references to academic articles and online resources for further reading. It appears to be a compilation of relevant information on business law and ethics, potentially useful for students or professionals looking to deepen their understanding of these concepts.

Business Law

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
SCETION 1 .................................................................................................................................1
P1 Structure of English legal system and different sources of laws that organisations must
comply.........................................................................................................................................1
P2 Role of government in law-making and application of statutory and common law in justice
courts...........................................................................................................................................4
SECTION 2......................................................................................................................................6
P3 Employers’ legal obligations in different cases.....................................................................6
SECTION 3 ......................................................................................................................7
P4 Appropriate legal solutions for the both of the case studies..................................................7
P5 Justification of solution..........................................................................................................9
Section 4.........................................................................................................................................10
P6 Concept and benefits of using Alternative Dispute Resolution process..............................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................13
........................................................................................................................15
.......................................................................................................................................................16

INTRODUCTION
Every organisation has to follow the rules which are present in a state or country.
All the regulations relating to formation and operation of business comes under
business law. The main reason of existence of these “act” is avoidance of dispute and
restriction on different kind of malpractices. This file will discuss about English legal
system and other legal bindings that an enterprise has to obey. Role of government and
judiciary system will also become part of this (Bird, 2011). This report will also include
employer's and employee's legal obligation. At the end, this assignment will cover some
case studies which will assist in understand various types of rules.
SCETION 1
P1 Structure of English legal system and different sources of laws that organisations
must comply.
Generally law made by government of a country only exist in that nation but
English legal system is present in many countries like New Zealand, Canada, etc.
Britishers ruled on different part of this world, territories got freedom also accepted rules
and regulations which some modification. Some experts of this filed think that structure
of judiciary system in UK is complicated which creates different kind of confusions
among public. This legal system is divided into two parts, one is criminal law and other
is civil law. First one deals with serious crimes like murder or attempt to murder, on the
other hand later one related to conflicts between individuals or organisations.
If a person or company is facing any dispute than first they have to knock the
door of magistrate's courts (Bishara, 2011). Cases relating to family conflicts, summary
offences etc. are fought at this level. Tribunal is the other option, it deals with cases
relating to social security, immigration, pension, tax, land etc. If both parties get satisfied
with the discussion than they can follow the decision given by judge, but if any of the
have some issues than they move to next level i.e. high court. This part of judiciary
system deals with all types of cases, some comes from magistrate's level other are filed
directly. Their are some disputes which are need to solved in less time and their
importance is more than normal conflicts. High court starts hearing of these matter on
priority basis because they understand it's significance. Supreme court is the highest
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authority in English legal system, their division is considered as final judgement and
both parties have to accept it. A case can reach in supreme court by two methods, first
is criminal appeal from crown court and other is civil division i.e. appeals from lower
level like magistrate's and high courts.
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Source of law
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Legal system of United kingdom may sounds complicated but it is assure justice
to people who are following all the rules and regulation which are present in country.
Their are 4 source of formation of law, first is by parliament of UK. In election, public
selected their leader who represent them in parliament. If government want to bring
some change in nation than they make a bill and present it in front of member of
parliament. After through discussion, voting is done on presented bill, if official
document gets majority of votes than this bill will convert into law. Government play
crucial rule in this methods of formulation of rules (Borden and Rhee, 2011).
'Common law' is legal system which was created centuries ago. It main purpose
was to standardisation of regulation throughout England. These acts are become
obsolete in this era so government is ending them in regular interval of time. Although,
some part of this source of law is accepted by world because it provide basic solution of
various types of problems. Earlier UK was part of European union, they had to follow
the rules made by EU. If a company get permission of doing business from this union
than they do not have to get approval of its member countries like Britain. This was a
indirect form of law but after Brexit no one in UK has to follow the regulations made by
European union (Carroll and Buchholtz, 2014). At the time of solving various kind of
disputes, court give different judgement which become law of the nation and it has to be
followed by everyone. Government can be considered as the main source of law
become people selected them to make changes in country by framing effective laws.
One of the most effective reform of recent time is removing barriers relating to
social investment. Some outdated acts like law of wills are going to see some major
changes in upcoming year. Their are recommendations relating to fire arms which will
become part of the Policing and Crime Act 2017, recently they got royal assent.
P2 Role of government in law-making and application of statutory and common law in
justice courts.
Whenever people face some big issue than seek assistance of government (Roe,
2013). Parliament of UK is considered as the prime source law because members who
sit there represent territories who have selected them. The first step in formation of law
is making of proposals by various authorities. The send their finding to cabinet minister
so they can check all the areas which should become part of bill. In parliament, this
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official document is given to all members so they can read it and discover provisions
which need to be changed (De Jonge, 2011). Once all MPs get read proposed bill
government initial discussion on this official document and try to convince all the
members who are present in parliament so they can vote in favour of bill. If government
find some genuine problem than they send this official document to the committee of
MPs so they can make necessary changes. If they do not discover any lacuna than they
go for voting and if they get majority of votes than this bill will convert into 'law' but after
permission of Monarch.
Statutory law is made by state or government authorities. Unlike common law it is
a written act whose nature is prescriptive. Main reason of formation of this type of
relation is to find the solution of big problems which is effecting huge number of people.
This type of law take lot of time in its creation because it has to go through lengthy
process, government play significant role in implementation of these acts. Common law
is instructive in nature. Decision given by court become part of legal system which has
to be followed by every person across then nation. Sometime other judges make these
judgement as the base of their decision. A judge or committee of judges has to mention
the law under which they are punishing or freeing someone (Dickerson, 2011).
Sometime court do not consider exact judgement interpret-ate its core meaning make
discussion accordingly.
Government can not inter-fare in common law but they are facing serious trouble
relating to some judgement given by court than they can make a statutory rule against
it. Statutory law is a result of extensive research and study of previous cases. They do
not need any modification at the time of its implementation but common law can be
interpretated according to need of court which varies from cases to cases. This kind of
regulations get develop on daily basis with out any research. Their are some areas
where common law is not applicable but statutory rules are needed to be followed in
every part of country (Swanson and Frederick, 2016).
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SECTION 2
P3 Employers’ legal obligations in different cases
 Occupational health and safety – occupational safety and health administration
act clearly states that employer has to provide a perfect workplace which is free
from various types of hazardous conditions. They have to provide safe tools and
equipments to employees in order to avoid accidents that can take life of a
worker or do serious injure to them. They are responsible for providing them
training which so they can understand the circumstances which can become
reason of an accident. Employer has to paste poster and picture which can make
them aware about various kind of safety measure (Eren and et .al., 2012). If they
read them on continuous basis them chances of happening traumatic incident will
go down.
 Worker compensation – Employer has to give insurance to their worker and they
have to paste a poster about this information at a visible location so every
employee can see it. In case of any severe accident, employer has to pay
employee claim amount with in 24 hour, they also have to give them a copy of
claim so so they can get complete information about the amount which they are
getting. If worker get injured than employer is liable for compensating them
because it is their personal liability. They also have to give them proper
accommodation, they have to release notice regarding worker's compensation
eligibility.
 Harassment – Some popular examples of harassment are unfair treatment,
spreading rumour etc. (Schön, 2012). According to equality act 2010, these
practices are illegal. Undermining a qualified worker is another example which is
mention in law. In order to avoid these kind of incidents they should make a
proper chain of communication so they can stop various kind of disputes at the
point of its generation.
 Equal opportunities – Employer has to provide equal opportunities to all
employees (Esposito, 2012). The can not do discrimination of basis of gender or
race. If an employee is qualified for a position than organisation has to pay him
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more money and allot him his right position. A disable person should all get same
chance which other people get in a company.
SECTION 3
P4 Appropriate legal solutions for the both of the case studies.
Employment act in UK stated correct selection and dismissal procedure that have
to be adopted by an employer. Their are two types of dismissal process, one is wrongful
and other is unfair. Normally people will considers them same things but their is a big
difference between these two terms. In wrongful dismissal, employer fire an employee
without giving proper notice (Ruggie, 2014). They breach the law and do not give
necessary time with is mentioned in law. If the break the contract lawfully than
employee can not sue them because they will not have appropriate reason which can
prove employer guilty. In case of unfair termination, a person is fired without any reason
or sometime on wrong ground. Generally an organisation try to find bogus explanation
so they can fire a worker. A company can get correct reason for retrenchment of an
employee but if they manage whole matter unfairly than they may have to face its legal
consequences. Unfair dismissal is covered under statutory act so it has to be followed
by every organisation who is operating in UK (Fassin and Buelens, 2011). Their are
some rules which has to followed by employee in order to file a case against employers.
They should be working either full time or part time, according to this law hours does not
matter. Another significant provision of this act is that an employee should be working in
that company for at least one year, if they do not meet this condition that they will not
get any legal assistance from court. Their are some exceptions of this rules which are
followed in some special cases. Every organisation has set retirement age which in
normal situations is 60-65, worker can not sue their employer in case they fire them
because they were suppose to retire after they cross fixed age limit.
In this case, Calvin is an employee of large fashion house. He works on the
position of designer. He was working from last 4 years but one they his employer,
Donna fired him because he was acting suspiciously. When Donna checked petty cash
box she found that 100 pound were missing (Reed and et.al., 2013). She fired Calvin
because of her suspicion, their were 4 other people who were present in that room but
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she give did not ask them single thing. She also insulted him by saying that she do not
want a thief in her organisation. In this case she broke two laws. First is unfair dismissal,
she did not gave a proper reason for retrenchment and fired Calvin on the basis of
suspicion. He can file a case in court because his employer did not give him appropriate
ground for dismissal. Their were four other employees who could also steal money but
she did not ask anyone about missing money and gave retrenchment order. Another
legal mistake which Donna commit was wrongful dismissal of employee (Folsom and
et .al., 2012). She did not give notice period which is necessary before firing a worker
out of company. She just gave oral order which is illegal according to law. According to
law, she should make an investigation team so which can examine whole situation and
find the suspects who could take money out of petty cash. Judiciary system may order
Donna to give Calvin his old position and apologise him publicly because she scolded
him for no reason in-front of his co-workers. This matter can also be solved out of court
if she accept her mistake and allot Calvin his old position with due respect ( Oswald,
2014).
In other case, Dan a owner of small convenience store applies for a fire
insurance. Insurance company gave him a form to fill which has one question “did you
made any claim on insurance policy in last two years”. He filled 'no' in box because he
did not know that by 2 years they mean 23 months. He suffer huge loss in fire at his
new store but insurance company denied to pay a single penny because of the
confusion in “2 Year” term. According to law, company should make their clients
understand what they mean by particular term. It is their responsibility to remove the
various kind of confusions which can generate in mind of a customer. This mistake can
be committed by any person because in general term 2 years mean 24 months.
Dan can file case in court as he is entitled to get full claim. If insurance company
loss this case than they has to face bad promotion which may become hey factor in
reduction of profit (Gjølberg, 2011). They have to pay him appropriate amount with a
letter of apology. If insurance firm agree to pay claim outside of court than it will be
beneficial for both side. They may avoid letter of apology if this matter do not go in
court.
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P5 Justification of solution
Every organisation want to promote their good image in market because it is
beneficial for their business. If they follow rules and regulation which are present in a
country than it will make a good impression on mind of their customers. In case of
Calvin, his employer Donna fired him without any reason. She humiliated him by asking
him to leave because she do not want thief in her company. The process of
retrenchment was unlawful and Calvin will this case. In order to loss huge amount of
monetary and respect, large fashion house should solve this issue out of court because
this will help them in saving fees of lawyers. Legal system of UK is very complicated so
judgement will take lot of time (Hayden and Bodie, 2012). Lawyers will ask for huge
amount because they can save if they talk with Calvin and try to find a solution which
will be beneficial for both of them. Calvin is a normal worker so it will be difficult for him
to appoint an expensive lawyers and waste time of legal proceeding. Large fashion
house should reappoint him so they can finish this matter as soon as possible. Donna
should accept her mistake and apologise him because they called him “thief” in front of
his co-workers. They did not follow correct procedure of retrenchment, they did not gave
him notice for firing which is necessary under law. The reason of sending Calvin out of
company was unfair because according to act, a person can not be fired on the basis of
an unfair reason (Nissenbaum, 2011).
In other case, insurance company is denying to pay amount of claim because
they are saying that Dan did not follow the conditions of contract. He run a small
convenience store which burnt in fire. According to the rules, company who is doing
insurance is responsible for making other person understand about all the legal term
which are present in the contract. General words like 2 years meant 23 months in the
contract. If Dan knock the door of court than he will win the case because he did not
make any mistakes. If insurance company sort this matter out of court than they can
save huge amount of money because they would not have to pay various kind of legal
fees (Hiller, 2013). Beside money, their image in public will also get bad promotion
because they will be find culprit in this case. Their wrong doing will make a huge impact
on their profit. They amount that they have to pay to lawyer can be given to Dan which
will solve complete matter in less period of time. Solving matter out of court will be
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beneficial for Dan also because he do not have to pay huge amount to lawyer which he
can not afford in present situation. He is a normal convenience store worker so he do
not have to time to attend hearing because it will his monthly income. He has to close
his shop in order to attend hearing of court.
In both cases employer should adopt same strategies. They should not take this
matter into court because it will involve huge cost of legal obligation. They also have to
appoint a lawyer who will charge high fees so such a small issue. In business, goodwill
is very important for every organisation because it provide them some extra edge on
their competitors (King and Raja, 2013). If image of a firm is not good than people would
not like to do business with them. If will be beneficial for Dan and Calvin also because
they can not afford where the expenses which they have to bear. Time is another issue,
English legal system is complicated and it talk lot of time in solving a small issue. Both
side want to end this dispute in less time because it is doing harm to both of them.
Section 4
P6 Concept and benefits of using Alternative Dispute Resolution process.
(A) It does not matter how much money an organisation have in their bank account,
they do not like to spend unnecessary amount on paying fees of lawyer. If they go
knock the door of court that they may have to wait for judgements for years. Alternative
dispute resolution is another way of solving a problem, there are mainly three methods
of solving a conflict, first is negotiation, second is arbitration and last one is conciliation
which is popular by another name i.e. mediator. All the method has their own
advantages and disadvantages so parties should find appropriate methods of resolving
various kind of disputes (Santner, 2011).
Negotiation – This is a flexible process, both parties can set timing of solving
conflicts according to their need. Their is no legal binding like of judiciary system, both
sides can set dates according to their convenience. All the rules of resolving problems
are made by them so which give them freedom from external restrictions which is very
which can create different kind of hindrance in business operations (Leung and et.al.,
2013). Their is no necessity of to reach an agreement so if things do not go according to
their demand than they can look for another solution. But in court, they do not have this
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convenience. If judge give an order than they have to follow it no matter how it is going
to impact their business operation. If both of them are not agree with the outcome than
they can stop the whole process because they have full control on the whole procedure.
Mediator – This method is adopted by when one party tries to bulldoze other. In
order to maintain proper balance between power possess by both of them they appoint
appoint mediator who focus on resolving issue without involving legal obligations. This
is a very quick process and save lot of time for both parties. Normally solution of small
business dispute is solved in more than one year but this approach reduces the time by
significant amount (Michalos, 2017). If does not involve lawyer which save huge money
of both side because their fees can put severe amount of burden of financial health of
both sides. The biggest advantage of this model is that it can resolve smallest of
disagreements which have potential to become big trouble in upcoming time. Mediator
is hired from outside so it does not favour a single side, probability of fraudulence is low.
Arbitration – This is considered as the most sound approach of solving a problem
because it involve expert of various field who study complete case and than start
listening to both side. Their chance of giving a wrong judgements is very low. It is a
flexible process because parties can set dates of discussion according to their demand.
In litigation both sides have to present on a date which is given by judge. They do not
care about their convenience. Structure of arbitration process is not complex which help
them in solving various issues in less period of time. Their rules and regulations are
simple so various wrong tactical that lawyers can adopt in winning a case do not work in
arbitration process.
(B) Antwon and Tyrell were in a dispute from a long time (Monseau, 2011). They
tried to resolve this issue but after efforts of several weeks they they did not reach to a
satisfactory solution. Both side understand that if they work together than it will be
beneficial for both of them. So they want to solve this issue without affecting their
business relationship. Arbitration will be best option for both parties because they want
to resolve this matter in less time and in effective manner. Members of arbitration have
in-depth knowledge of complete matter so they can solve this issue. Their are some
information which both parties want to keep confidential because if the go in media than
it will make a huge negative impact on the business of both organisations. If this dispute
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will remain for more time than they will face more loss. Arbitration is an expensive
approach if it is compared from negotiation and mediation but both parties are already
facing huge loss on daily bases so they should adopt this method because it assures
correct decision in less time. It is the best option as a whole (Nichols2012).
CONCLUSION
Therefore it can be concluded from the above discussed report that laws plays
an important role in the life of an individual as well as organisations. The structure of the
legal system in the country complements the organizations by framing certain
provisions. The legal system classified as criminal and civil law covers all the aspects
related to individual as well as organizational. The regulating authorities of these laws
are also divided as supreme court (higher authority), high court ( authority lower than
higher authority) and the divisional courts ( lower courts). In UK, the legal system
constitutes the tribunals, magistrates court, crown court, and county courts which are
supervised by the divisional courts. Common law is a legal system whose main
objective is to provide standardisation of regulation, solving various kinds of disputes
and followed by everyone. The role of government in law making and application of
statutory and common law in justice courts is vital. These are made by state or
government authorities. These types of regulations develops on daily basis without any
research required.
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