Improving Employee Relations and Functioning

The provided assignment requires analysis of various articles and books related to human resource management (HRM) and employment laws. It also includes a case study on Horizon Group vs Amanda Bonnen over Twitter. The task is to provide a suitable title, meta title with [PDF] prefix, meta description for SEO, and a summary of the assignment details in English.

Employee Law and Relations

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report will cover employment laws and human resource practices that is
implemented within Carling UK Ltd. It will cover different problems that arises in company and
their solutions which is taken by Annabel in order to maintain smooth working environment. She
has to undergo tough situations which she faced very well and also resolve all situation in right
manner. She has implemented different HRM practices, models and employment laws in order to
avoid any kind of discriminations with anyone.

Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.............................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................2
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................2
1) Legal risks at Newcastle Office..............................................................................................2
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................4
2) Critical evaluation of relative strengths of each case.............................................................4
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................5
3) Steps to be taken in order to ensure equality..........................................................................5
TASK 4 ...........................................................................................................................................6
4) Legal consequences relating to employment matters.............................................................6
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................7
RECOMMENDATIONS.................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9
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INTRODUCTION
Employment law is the law which is governing the relationship between an employer and
employee. There are various sources of employment law such as Federal and State Constitutions,
Federal and State Statues and Regulations , Labour Laws, Common law, etc. Legal bodies have
enacted large number of legitimate laws which are beficial for staff members or workforce
because all the employment provisions are supporting them at workplace while performing
assigned job role. Therefore, assignment is going to highlight various legal matters related with
relevant case in order to understand provisions which are enacted by legitimate bodies. Initially,
legal risk which incurred at Newcastle office is going to expressed with the help of suitable
scenario. Furthermore, employment matters are also outlined in the project for understanding
various rights and authorities of staff members at workplace with the help of suitable examples.
Federal and State Constitutions are the highest sources of employment laws and protects
the rights of government employees. It ensures, that workers have access to their first
amendments rights (free speech), fourth amendment protection (freedom from unreasonable
searches and seizures) and their fifth Amendment rights (freedom from self incrimination).
Federal and State Statues and Regulations modifies employment relationships by
preventing discriminating employment practices. Whereas, Labour laws refers to a set of statues
that regulate labour management relations (Ouimet and Zarutskie, 2014).
Employment contract is a type of contract which states rights and responsibilities of
employers and employees and is the major basis of employment relationship. Most of the
contract does not need to be in written to be legally valid, but if they are then it is a better.
Contract can vary by the mutual understanding of both parties.
TASK 1
1) Legal risks at Newcastle Office.
Carling UK Ltd is operating numerous care homes across the world and started their
business twenty years ago. It is established in Birmingham and they have largest care home in
the area. From the last five years, they are experiencing rapid growth due to effective marketing
practices, good staff and satisfied customers. Annabel Handy is the director of Carling UK Ltd
and is very efficient in her work. She is also known as ' a very hand on' director and is capable of
handling things in good manner. Organisation is employing more than 500 employees
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worldwide. They have two care homes in North West (Liverpool and Manchester) and one in
Newcastle. Following were some issues faced by Annabel Handy at Newcastle Office:
In first problem, Colin Tate is a member of administrative team and is working for
Newcastle care home for over six years (Png, 2017). He wrote negative comments about the
company on Facebook account. On examination, Randeep (HR manager) discovers that
comment as highly damageable for company's reputation, but Colin protested that his comment
were made in private time and are not anyone's business.
Case: Horizon Group vs Amanda Bonnen over Twitter
In this case, Horizon Group sued Amanda Bonnen because they tweet about the one of
the division of respective organisation which is damaging their reputation in market. Thus, in
such situation organisation have right to sue such employees who are tweeting related to the
enterprise in social media. Malicious Communications Act 1988, given by the government which
states that there is penalties and offense in relation to the communication which take place by
using online social media. By implementing this act in the company they can punish for such
comment which is made by them on social media.
In the Second Problem, Julie Tate is the care worker and she look after needs of resident.
By the HR manager it was told to Julie that she should not wear necklace while working because
this can occur health and safety issues for the people who live their (Sharp, Moorman and
Claussen, 2014). Julie refuse to do this because she said that this necklace belong to their religion
and strong follower of the Catholic faith because of that she refuses to follow and obey any rule
which to remove her necklaceher necklace.
Dismissal could be unfair if your employer doesn’t:
 have a good reason for dismissing employee
 follow the company’s formal disciplinary or dismissal process (or the statutory minimum
dismissal procedure in Northern Ireland)
Situations when your dismissal is likely to be unfair include if you:
 asked for flexible working
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 refused to give up your working time rights - eg to take rest breaks
 resigned and gave the correct notice period
 joined a trade union
 took part in legal industrial action that lasted 12 weeks or less
 needed time off for jury service
 applied for maternity, paternity and adoption leave
 were on any maternity, paternity and adoption leave you’re entitled to
 tried to enforce your right to receive Working Tax Credits
 exposed wrongdoing in the workplace (whistleblowing)
 were forced to retire (known as ‘compulsory retirement’)
In this case Human Resource manager is right because in care home their should be
decent dress up the care taker and they should not to wear any necklace. Because this is not safe
for the people who are living in that care home it can harm them. Juile is the lady who assist old
age people in standing and sitting at that time their necklace can harm them. Thus, in the
working hours Julie should not to wear necklace for safety of the person who are living their.
In third case, last issue in care home is related to the Ex-employees named as Ali Khan,
who work in maintenance department. After the service of nine month he was terminated three
months ago. His concern is related to some maintenance of electric within care home. Because
this wascan be major issue which wasis danger for the resident and other staff member.
Apart from this, Ali was not paid up to the date of termination.
In this case, it is the duty of care home to resolve that electricity issues because health
and safety is right of every employees. Because related to the this there is an law given by
government is Health and safety in work act, 1974. this act related to the health of employees in
the organisation and it is the responsibility of enterprise to take care of the people who are living
and doing job in care home. It states that every employee and resident of care home have right
for their health and safety (Ginzberg, 2017). Apart from this, another case is of wages which is
not paid to the Ali regarding to this also legislation is given such as payment wages act, 1936. it
is an act related to the wages of employees that company have to pay salary of their staff member
till the date of their working. this states that Care home have to pay salary of the Ali up to the
date of Termination.
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TASK 2
2) Critical evaluation of relative strengths of each case.
In Carling UK Ltd, there are mainly three cases which occur and every of them have their
strength in relation to the respective care home. Description of these is mention below :-
First Case – In this case, Colin is writewrote this related to the organisation on social
media comments stated “How do employers get away with it, another challenging day at work!
Had enough now can’t bear to see residents treated this way. Call themselves a “Care Home” -
joke???”. This mistake is find out by the HR manager Randeep and he said that it is damaging
reputation of the company. In such situation Carling UK Ltd have to take major step in relation
to this (Posner, 2014).
 Strength : Major strength is that owner of the company Annabel have right to Sue their
employee Colin because no one have right to write something related to the enterprise
which is damaging their image in market area. Such comments give negative image in
respect of the firm and in such situation it is the right of care home to raise their voice
against it.
 Defence – As per the Malicious Communications Act 1988, company can defence
themselves in court. Because no one have authority to write anything about company on
social media. In such situation Colin is punishable in the eyes of law.
Second case – In second situation, Julie is the lady who take care of the resident who
lives in the care home. She help residents in sitting up, get into bed and assist in their
personal hygiene also. But the issue rise in this is that Julie wear necklace which may be the
reason of any accident related to people living in care home. Thus, HR Randeep told her
not to wear such kind of jewellery but she refuse because that necklace present to their
religion and it is strongly follower of the Catholic faith. Because of that she refuse to
remove it and obey the order given by HR manager.
 Strength : In this case, respective company can give orders to the Julie strictly that not to
wear such jewellery because it can be the reason of any accident in care home. Their is an
act in relation to it, Health and safety act 1974 which is given by government for taking
care of the employees and people who are living in care home (Lin, B., Law, K.S. and
Zhou, 2017). While working in the enterprise every staff member have to follow their
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rules and regulation because these are designed after keeping in mind health and safety of
everyone.
 Defence : According to the Health and Safety act 1974, Company can defence
themselves because such practices are not allowed in the care home which can harm life
of any resident or employees.
Third case – In this Ali khan is the employee who is working in care home in
maintenance department. Thus, it is duty of Ali to take care of overall organisation in relation to
the maintenance. After service of nine month employment was terminated three weeks ago
(Stout and Blair, 2017). But he was continuing because of the concern related to the electricity
within care home. Apart from this, there is an another issue also that is company is not paying
salary to the Ali Khan up to the date of termination.
 Strength : In this strength is that, because of Ali Khan company find out major issue
which should be resolved so that their will be no harm to the people living their. It is the
responsibility of the enterprise to take care of the residents and their staff members also.
Apart from this there is an law related to wages i.e., Payment wages act, 1936. According
to this act company have to pay salary of Ali Khan till the date to their termination. so
they have to pay salary of Ali Khan up to the date of termination.
 Defence : In the case of Ali Khan company can defend themselves in court because he is
terminated by the care home. So he can't claim for salary.
It is against the law to discriminate against you because of your religion or belief. This
applies: when you buy or use goods and services
 at work
 in education
 In housing.
It is discrimination to treat unfairly compared to someone else, because of religion or
belief. This is called direct discrimination and is illegal. Examples include:
 refusing a bank loan because an individual is Jewish
 refusing to allow an individual into a restaurant because that person is Muslim
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TASK 3
3) Steps to be taken in order to ensure equality.
As a owner of Carling UK Ltd., it is necessary for Annabel Handy to take steps towards
implementation of equality practices which ensure equal treatment with every worker and
employees working in the organisation. Each and every worker has legal rights and cannot be
discriminated on equality. In order to avoid violation and discrimination, Annabelle can
implement good HRM Practices to good and smooth working within organisation. She can also
implement Equality Act, which can prevent discrimination of any employee on the grounds of
age, sex, religion, case, belief, gender, sexual orientation, etc (Odhong and Omolo, 2014). HR
department and managers are responsible for ensuring better work culture and people are treated
in right manner. No rights of any employee is violated by anyone and if any person found in to
be discriminating a person, then he will be liable for the penalty stated under the law.
Some HRM practices that can be implemented by Annabel such as training and
development, recruitment and selection, compensation and benefits in order to motivate better
performance and improve their skills and knowledge area in specific resgion. Under Equality
Act states that, any person cannot be violated on above mentioned characteristics and
everyone should be given equal chances and opportunities. With this act, everyone will be
equality equally and fairly treated and this will ultimately develops healthy work atmosphere
within organisation. Annabelle can also implement various HR theories and concepts within
organisation in order to ensure proper working and management of work. She can also provide
equality and human rights training to staff members so that they can understand the meaning and
sensitivity of equality and achieve all these standards.
She can also implement equality policies very strict within company so that every
employees can follow the policies strictly (Kraakman and Armour, 2017). She can also
implement different HR models and theories like feedback systems, employee selections,
Maslow's theory of needs, etc. If any person is a victim of inequality then, they might approach
to Annabelle personally and she can take necessary actions in that matter. For this, they can
implement feedback or suggestion systems where people can send letters or notices against
discrimination and strict actions willcan be taken against theat person (Reb, Narayanan and
Chaturvedi, 2014).
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As in the case study, Ali was not treated wellproperly and was dismissed without any
solid reason.. He complained related to maintenance of electrics to senior authority, James
Magpie. He advised them, there was a clear danger for residents and staff. On this topic, James
and Ali got into heated argument and Ali was dismissed on the spot.
From above case, dismissal of Ali was not at all a good practice and being at such a
higher level, James should have understood the dangerous situation for residents and staff, as
anyone could be injured from electricals. He should listen to Ali and should take necessary steps
in order to improve the condition. Better and mutual understanding should be present within
employees and superior to maintain proper work environment within company (Flammer and
Luo, 2017).
TASK 4
4) Legal consequences relating to employment matters.
Employment contract is a type of contract which states’ rights and responsibilities of
employers and employees and is the major basis of employment relationship. Most of the
contract does not need to be in written to be legally valid, but if they are then it is a better.
Contract can vary by the mutual understanding of both parties. From the case study, Annabel has
to go through with many problems at once and then she decided to sell her business to an old
school friend. After all those problems, she questioned her own ability and her recruitment and
selection decisions. From all the cases, she is willing to take early retirement and is exploring
different options. Due to her business transfer, she feels responsible for their 500 employees and
job security, as they will be transferred to new company and to new environment (Yang and van
der Wal, 2014).
Business transfer refers to sale of business to other person and also includes merge,
acquisition, take overs, etc. Following are some obligationsrequirement of employer while
transfer of business:
 It is necessary to notify all employees of organisation about the transfer within reasonable
time so that they can prepare themselves for future transfer.
 Brief them about different conditions, terms, rules, regulations, work environment, etc. to
employees for smooth functioning in other country.
 Ensure employees about job security and no breaks of employment during transfer.
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 Ensure them related to terms of employment which will be favourable after the transfer.
The European Communities (Protection of employees on transfer of undertaking)
Regulation 2003 protects the rights of employees where the legal owner is changes of the
business in which they are employed (Pirvali, Ghadam and Asadi, 2014). This area of law is
known as 'TUPE'. The main purpose of TUPE is to protect employees from consequences or
dismissal at the time of business transfer. Under TUPE, employees are entitled to same terms and
conditions of employment as applied before the transfer. New owner now become liable for
obligations that accrued to employees before the transfer but were not discharged.
There are two types of transfers that are protected under TUPE and they are business
transfers and service provision changes. So while transferring business, Annabel should ensure
job security with her friend in order to provide smooth functioning of 500 employees in other
company. This will satisfy them and they will feel secure with business transfers.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that employment laws are necessary for any
organisation as they provide proper order and ensure discipline within company. Employment
relations are crucial for organisation as better relation will be beneficial for company and will
will it to its desired success. From the above case study, Annabelle was a dedicated director and
wants to maintain their company reputation in the market. She had faced several problems and
has taken effective strategies and steps in order to resolve all problems in right manner. She has
implemented different employment acts so that no one is the victim of discrimination and
harassment. Better HRM practices and models have led the director to improve their current
functioning and stabilizing their situations.
RECOMMENDATIONS
As mentioned above, Employment laws are crucial for company to establish in order to
maintain good and healthy relationship between employees and employers. These are necessary
as they are responsible for performing all business operations of company and lead the firm to
their desired success. In order to retain strong position and maintain healthy environment within
organisation, it is necessary for directors and superiors to implement all employment related laws
and good HRM Practices. Annabel Handy can implement better practices so that less problem
arises in future and for better functioning of employees as well as employers. By working and
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coordinating together, staff can easily improve their functioning and can provide better services
to people living in their care home.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
Ouimet, P. and Zarutskie, R., 2014. Who works for startups? The relation between firm age,
employee age, and growth. Journal of financial Economics. 112(3). pp.386-407.
Png, I.P., 2017. Law and innovation: evidence from state trade secrets laws. Review of
Economics and statistics. 99(1). pp.167-179.
Sharp, L., Moorman, A. and Claussen, C., 2014. Sport law: A managerial approach. Taylor &
Francis.
Ginzberg, E., 2017. The institutions of private law and their social functions. Routledge.
Posner, R.A., 2014. Economic analysis of law. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business.
Lin, B., Law, K.S. and Zhou, J., 2017. Why is underemployment related to creativity and OCB?
A task-crafting explanation of the curvilinear moderated relations. Academy of
Management Journal. 60(1). pp.156-177.
Odhong, E. and Omolo, J., 2014. An Analysis of the Factors Affecting Employee Relations in
the Flower Industry in Kenya.
Reb, J., Narayanan, J. and Chaturvedi, S., 2014. Leading mindfully: Two studies on the influence
of supervisor trait mindfulness on employee well-being and
performance. Mindfulness. 5(1). pp.36-45.
Flammer, C. and Luo, J., 2017. Corporate social responsibility as an employee governance tool:
Evidence from a quasi‐experiment. Strategic Management Journal. 38(2). pp.163-183.
Yang, L. and van der Wal, Z., 2014. Rule of morality vs. rule of law? An exploratory study of
civil servant values in China and the Netherlands. Public Integrity. 16(2). pp.187-206.
Pirvali, A., Ghadam, H.S. and Asadi, A., 2014. Surveying the Relationship between the
Employees' Organizational Citizenship Behavior with Customer Satisfaction. Kuwait
Chapter of Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review. 33(2530). pp.1-7.
Stout, L.A. and Blair, M.M., 2017. A team production theory of corporate law. In Corporate
Governance (pp. 169-250). Gower.
Kraakman, R. and Armour, J., 2017. The anatomy of corporate law: A comparative and
functional approach. Oxford University Press.
List of case :
Horizon Group vs Amanda Bonnen over Twitter
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