Business Law Report: English Legal System, Employer Liability, ADR

This report provides a comprehensive overview of business law, delving into the structure of the English legal system, including civil and criminal law, the roles of magistrates' courts, tribunals, high courts, and the Supreme Court. It examines the sources of law, such as Parliament, common law, EU regulations, and case law, highlighting the government's role in law formation through the bill process. The report also explores employer responsibilities under various acts like the Health and Safety Act 1974, worker's compensation, and the Equality Act 2010, with case studies analyzing legal applications and the impact of negligence in the workplace. Furthermore, the report addresses legal solutions for business problems, including wrongful termination and breach of contract, and concludes with a discussion on the concept and benefits of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) processes.

BUSINESS LAW

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
SECTION 1 ....................................................................................................................................1
P1 English legal system and various source of law................................................................1
P2 Role of government in formation of law and application of statutory and common law. 2
SECTION 2 .....................................................................................................................................4
P3 Legal application of employer's in various cases..............................................................4
SECTION 3......................................................................................................................................5
P4 Legal solution of following business problems.................................................................5
P5 Justification of solution.....................................................................................................7
SECTION 4......................................................................................................................................8
P6 Concept and benefits of Alternative Dispute Resolution process.....................................8
CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Laws which has either direct or indirect connection with businesses comes under business
law. It deals with various issues relating to a company, government or public. Tax, employment,
bankruptcy are significant part of this topic. If an organisation is operation their firm in a
particular region that they have comply all the regulation which is present in that state or nation.
The main reason behind formation of these acts is removal of conflicts that can arise between
two parties. It also assures fairness in business by punishing people who are conducting illegal
activity in the name of commercial work (Fassin and Buelens, 2011). This assignment will
discuss about structure of English legal system. Role of government in formation of law will be
explained under this report. This project will also cover legal obligation of employer, some case
studies will be included in this file. Concept of alternative dispute resolution will be discussed at
the end of this project.
SECTION 1
P1 English legal system and various source of law
One can easily find reflection of English legal system in laws in laws of many countries.
It is considered as the base for most of the nations where England had ruled in past. Their are
two parts in which it can be divided, first is civil law and second is criminal law. Prior one
basically deals with the dispute which can happen between two or more than two parties. Later
one is talks about serious crime like murder, stealing etc. Whenever their is a trouble between
two sides, the first door that they can knock is magistrates' courts (Monseau, 2011). It generally
deals with family cases, property disputes etc. If someone is not satisfied by the judgement given
at magistrates' court then they can take the issue either in Crown court or at high court. Tribunal
is other option for which can be considered as the first door to knock by a party but does not take
every kind of case like criminal activity etc. It mainly deals with matter relating to tax, social
security etc.
High courts is significant part of English legal system because it maintain a proper
balance between pressure that magistrates' and supreme court face. High court deals with all kind
of cases, it has various divisions which focuses on particular type of matter like family, chancery,
administration etc. Their is a special division known as Queen's Bench which contain
commercial and admiralty court. Supreme court stands at the highest level of English legal
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system. They hear all the major disputes and cases but a person cannot directly knock their door.
They have to follow the process which starts with magistrates' court and tribunals. Decision
given by this apex body is considered as final judgement and it will be applicable in England,
Wales and Northern Ireland.
Source of law
Parliament of UK is responsible for making laws, they are considered as prime source but
beside them there are other institution who also play significant part in forming or amending
various acts. 'Common law' is another oldest source, the regulation under this form is made
centuries ago and they are hardly applied in present era (Esposito, 2012). Rules made by
European union also prevail UK but after Brexit there is a big question mark on their
applicability. United Kingdom was an integral part of EU, they had a legal binding to follow the
norms which is made by this institution but Brexit may reduce this source of law in UK.
Case law is considered as origin of many laws, when a court give a judgement it become
rule that has to followed in every part of the country. The decision given by high court can be
taken as base by another judge at the time of giving final judgement. After Brexit, government is
planning to bring various reform in English law system so they can filled the loopholes which
may arise because of departing from EU. In recent years, they have done impressive work by
including fire arms in The Policing and Crime Act 2017. Most of the legal hurdles that were
creating problem in social investment are removed by bringing new reforms. Most development
from government sides are getting Royal approval in short period of time (Nichols, 2012).
P2 Role of government in formation of law and application of statutory and common law
Government is considered as the prime source of law but the process of forming new acts
is very complicated. A country face various kind of problems, these troubles create dispute and
confusions between two parties. People seek government help in order to find legal solution of
an issue. Their are different government authorities who make proposal in-front of cabinet
ministers. If they find that this issue have major implications then they convert it into a bill
which cover all the area relating to the matter (Ye and et .al., 2011). This bill has many
provisions, sections and sub sections where significant concerns like punishment are included.
Experts of various filed become significant part in formation of a bill.
Once all the work is done relating to bill then cabinet minister present it in parliament for
hearing. Their are some steps which has to be followed before discussion on the bill. First one is
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giving copy of bill to every MP so they can read it and find the flaws in it. After this first step of
reading, the process of discussion starts where government talks about various advantages of this
bill, they also discuss its vital part which generally get attention of media. MPs of different
parties try to reveal the problems in the bill and if government find it reasonable then they sent it
back for making necessary changes. The committee who is responsible for this work normally
have 20 MPs. If there is no shortcomings in proposal bill then the voting process starts, if MPs
vote in its favour then it become law otherwise they it is send back to the committee who try
make essential amendment in it so it can take shape of an act in upcoming time. The bill should
get pass in both houses in order to become, if government fail to pass it in one houses then they
cannot convert a bill into law. Taking royal consent is the last part of this process.
Source: Researching Statutory Law. 2017
Statutory law is made by parliament, they are present in written form and they have a
prescriptive nature. When a court give a judgement they provide the act ad section which is
giving them power to give specific decision. Common law is very different from statutory, its
source is the judgement which is given by court. Their scope is much wider compare to the laws
made by parliament because there are thousands of judges who given hundreds of decision
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everyday (Willey and Burke, 2011). Basic nature of common law is instructive and they are not
present in a written form. A judge can make judgement of a court as the base of their verdict by
using this form of law. The regulation made by government authorities are also considered in
statutory law. Court cannot simple punish or free someone without mentioning the act or
decision of judge which is allowing him to give particular verdict.
SECTION 2
P3 Legal application of employer's in various cases
Health and Safety act 1974 – This act states that it is the responsibility of the employer to
ensure safety of the workers at workplace. They must do necessary work for health and welfare
of the employees. (Eren and et .al., 2012). They are responsible for providing them healthy
environment i.e. free from any kind of hazardous situation. Posters, leaflets and warning signs
can be hanged at a location which should be visible from the working area of every worker.
According to Health and safety act 1974, every employer is responsible for providing essential
medical training to all the employees in a language which they can easily understand. They
should teach them the proper method of handling and storing dangerous chemicals and other
equipments. (Schön, 2012). This law applicable at a workplace where employer has given
employment to 5 or more than 5 workers.
Workers compensation – It is the responsibility of employer to give workers
compensation insurance to every employee who is working in their office or factory. If a worker
get injured then manager has to pay him/her claim in 24 hour after happening of incidents. If the
claim for medical assistance is less than $10000 then this demanding money should be paid
within 1 day. A copy of claim must be provided to the injured worker.
Harassment – Equality act 2010 states that an employer has to make a system for proper
communication in order to find the cases relating to harassment. Unfair treatment with a worker
is example of this issue. Most of the people generally complain about rumours which staff
members spread in the offices. All these issue are covered under Equality act and they are termed
as illegal. Harassment is basically a behaviour where someone intimidate or distress an
employee. It is basically a type of discrimination.
Equal opportunities – Job provider has to give equal change to every employee who is
working in their organisation. They cannot do discrimination on the basis of colour, gender etc. It
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two workers has same skills and they are doing similar work then employer cannot pay them
different amount (Santner, 2011). Disable person should be treated like normal employee and
their salary cannot be less then other people who are working on same task. This law states that
every person in the organisation should get equal chance of promotion and training at the
workplace.
Explanation of employment and contract act relating to case study
Grievance is considered as significant part of employment act. In this case a 16 year old
girl got injured, her left hand and forearm got severely burn. Employer is guilt in this scenario
because the main reason behind happening of this accident is negligence in monitoring process.
Team leader was responsible for keeping an eye on workers but he/she was working on a
different process. One of the most important point that is ignored in the whole case is the work
that is given to a 16 year old girl. Employers should not employ her for such a risky task that
could take her life. Shortage of staff is another matter in this whole scenario, the damage
occurred to her hand could be minimised if she get first aid on time or someone was working at
her place (Ruggie, 2014). Health and safety act,1974 states that an employer must get proper
training at the time of performing any dangerous task, provision of this act is not followed in this
case. Their were no posters or any warning signs relating to the danger which could take life of a
person.
The girl and employer were in contract which itself has flaws in it. Job provider was
aware of the risks that was present at the factory. Instead of recruiting a small girl for such a
risky work, he/she could select a mature person and employ 16 year old girl at other position.
Employer was responsible for her safety but he/she failed in his/her duty.
SECTION 3
P4 Legal solution of following business problems
In first case, Calvin, a designer was fired by his employer Donna. When she came in the
office she found that £100 was missing and blamed Calvin for this (Dickerson, 2011). She not
only fired her, Donna humiliated him in-front of other members of staff, she called him a thief
and said that he cannot work in this organisation any more. In this scenario, Donna broke two
laws, first is relating to unfair dismissal and other is wrongful dismissal. According to law, an
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employers should serve a notice to the employee in case he/she want to fire them. Job provider
have to follow the norms relating to this issue which involve proper number of notice in correct
time period. In above case, Donna did not notify Calvin and asked him to leave on immediate
basis. This should be considered as wrongful dismissal and Calvin can file a lawsuit against it.
The oral communication is not an appropriate way of firing an employee, sometime
companies provide a single notice to the employees and ask him/her to leave (Roe, 2013).
According to UK labour law, employer have to give proper number of warning, they have to tell
staff member the mistake which they are committing on continuous bases other job provider will
be held for breaking the rules under section of wrongful dismissal. Before firing an employee,
employer has to give a fair reason behind firing the worker. In cited case, the Donna failed to
provide a reasonable logic, she fired Calvin because she thought that he is the culprit who stole
£100. Their were four other people who were standing in the room but she doubted only Calvin.
Sometime job provider give a fair cause of firing a staff member the their approach wrong, this
will also be treated as unfair dismissal (Michalos, 2017). Calvin should take this matter in court
because Donna adopted incorrect approach for his retrenchment. If this issue is seen from the
eyes of employer i.e. Donna, she must apologise for her mistake. If she think that Calvin is real
culprit then she must had started an investigation, if Calvin was find found thief then she must
give him right number of notice in appropriate time. In wrongful dismissal the legal process of
firing is a person is not followed, employer breach the provisions that are present in employment
contract. Unfair dismissal is related to firing a employee without giving him/her any proper
reason. Calvin can file a law suit because in this case his dismissal for unfair and wrongfully
also.
In second case, Dan was owner if a small convenience shop. His store burnt down in fire
and when he went to ask for claim amount of fire insurance then they denied him to pat any sum.
At the time of filling proposal, he had to give ans for a question which was regarding claiming
insurance policy in last two years (Reed and et.al., 2013). He answered it 'no' but he did not
know that the real meaning of 2 years was 23 months. According to Insurance act 2015, a
company is responsible for explaining all the term of a contract to the customer. Dan should file
a case in court because in present scenario no one from insurance company told him that 2 years
actually means 23 months. It is not a general term as in reality two years is 24 months. Dan did
not commit any mistake and he is entitled for claimed amount. In this case three types of
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misrepresentation has happened, first is 'fraudulent' where wrong facts and data is presented. Dan
was also careless and he is responsible for 'negligence'. He also committed the mistake of being
'innocent' like thoughtlessness. Both parties are in fault so instead of seeking any legal solution
they should try to resolve the issue out of the court.
P5 Justification of solution
In first case, Donna would lose the case because of the statuary rules relating to
wrongful and unfair practice (De Jonge, 2011). Both sides should try to solve the issue without
involvement of court. Calvin will win the lawsuit but he must know that this whole process will
take lot of time. He is common man so he cannot afford wastage months on fighting a case. The
lawyer which Calvin will hire may ask for huge amount of money that he cannot afford. One can
find many cases where an employer fired an employee without giving him proper reason, most of
the time this incident happen because of heat of the moment and this scenario the situation is
almost same.
If Donna apologise for her mistake and give Calvin his job back then they can save each
other from lot of legal and financial trouble. Donna was breaking rules that are mentioned in
employment act so she do not stand a single chance of winning the lawsuit. Their were mainly
two areas which may cost her the case, first the unfair dismissal (Leung and et.al., 2013). She
asked Calvin to leave without giving him a fair cause. The provisions of wrongful dismissal will
also apply in this case, wrongful dismissal is related to firing a employee without following the
provisions that are present in the employment contract. This breach of contract is known as
wrongful dismissal. According to statutory act, Donna should make a team who will investigate
the whole matter and if they found Calvin guilty then they she can give him a pink slip. Donna
runs a large fashion house, if she lose this case in court than she will loose her goodwill in the
market which will ultimately result in less profit.
In second case, insurance company denied to pay claim amount to Dan because he
committed a mistake in filling proposal form. According to insurance act, an enterprise is
responsible for making customers understand all the terms and policies which is present in their
contract. In this scenario, insurance company did not explained Dan that 2 years mean 23 months
(Oswald, 2014). If this issue will go in court than firm from whom Dan got insurance will loose
the case. They goodwill may go down which will make a negative impact on their business. They
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should try to resolve this matter without involving judiciary system. Dan is a small businessmen,
he cannot afford huge expenditure on this case.
English legal system has many flaws and lengthy legal proceeding is one of its example
(Hayden and Bodie, 2012). Insurance company should accept their mistake and give claim
amount to Dan because if he win the lawsuit then cited enterprise had to pay him more money
which he is asking. Most of the time employees of insurance company commit these kind of
illegal acts in order to earn more profit but their make a long term negative impact on the name
of organisation (Researching Statutory Law. 2017). Their is no legal binding of solving an issue
in court so both parties should think about resolving the matter without spending money lawsuit.
In this case, both sides has committed some mistakes, Dan did not read the contract properly and
signed is without asking all the necessary questions to the insurance company. His negligence
and innocence is his own fault. The insurance company also committed broke law and they can
be charged for fraudulent. They did not represented a important fact like 2 years means 23
months. If they will go to court then both will he have to face some legal consequences so the
matter should get solved out of the court.
SECTION 4
P6 Concept and benefits of Alternative Dispute Resolution process
(A)
One can easily find many flaws in judiciary system of England. A person have to wait for
yeas in order to get justice. The fees of fighting a case is increasing continuously, lawyers are
charging millions of pound for fighting lawsuits. These are some major issues which force public
to explore new option (Carroll and Buchholtz, 2014). Alternative dispute resolution is a process
where conflicts are solved without involving court in the whole matter. Government is also
trying to promote this concept because they understand that judiciary system cannot take burden
of millions of cases which people file in every year. They also want public to get justice in less
time so they encouraging this concept.
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Source: Step six: Alternative Dispute Resolution. 2017
Most of the multinational organisation considered it as a best option because they want
solution of a dispute in no time. They have money to pay legal fees to lawyers but they do not
have years for resolving small issues in court. ADR mainly contain three methods, mediator,
negotiation and arbitration (Gjølberg, 2011). First one is the cheapest option where both sides
need to appoint some who can bring both parties on the same page. They try to resolve an issue
by keep disputing sides happy. In negotiation, two parties try to resolve the matter by making
some sacrifice. They have to decide their priorities in order to get come on a common ground.
The last method is very expensive but non one can raise question on its effectiveness. Arbitrators
analyse the complete matter and then appoint expert of various filed in order to understand the
different issues in better way (Step six: Alternative Dispute Resolution. 2017). Following are
various benefits of ADR:
Lower cost – Their is no necessity that disputing parties need to appoint a lawyers for
resolving an issue (Folsom and et .al., 2012). If they do not want to spend huge amount then they
can select an intermediator who can give a balance decision. Both sides do not need to pay
various amount which court charge in the process of litigation.
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Fast result – By adopting ADR procedure, dispute can get resolved in less time. Judges
take time of 2-3 months between two hearing, in the era no one want to wait for this much period
as they want rapid solution of a dispute.
Confidentiality – Hearing of a case can be attended by any person. Sometime competitors
of a company get vital information because it become part of a dispute. This problem of
confidentiality can get resolve in disputing parties opt for ADR process.
(B)
In cited case, both parties want to resolve the issue without hampering their relation. This
problem can be solved by seeking help of arbitrator. This will help disputing sides in resolving
the issue in a happy manner and if at the end they fail to come on a conclusion then they can
think about other option because they do not have any legal binding for following the order given
by arbitration (Borden and Rhee, 2011). It is an expensive option but Antwon and Tyrell can
afford this in order to keep healthy relation. They do not focus on every information relating to
matter. Availability of various experts belonging to different field is also not available in this
option. Arbitration is a more formal procedure compared to mediation as it mainly involve
retired judges and other professionals. If the matter go into court then the decision will come into
favour of one side, this will make a negative impact on the relation between Antwon and Tyrell.
They both need each other because it is beneficial for their business. They can sign an agreement
that if they will take assistance of court then it will not make an affect on their business relation,
no matter what is the decision given by judge. Arbitration would be best alternates solution
because it will solve complete issue without wasting much time and, at the end, both parties will
be agree relating to the decision. Choosing arbitration as an option will maintain good relation
between both parties.
CONCLUSION
At the end, it can be concluded that English law system has many flaws but still it is
considered as base for basic laws in many countries. Parliament and common law is prime source
of law. An employer is responsible for providing a safe and healthy workplace to the employees,
job provider has follow various norms which are present in employment act. ADR process is
getting popularity in this era because of its low cost and fast decision feature. It has various
methods and disputing parties can choose appropriate one according to their suitability.
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