Laws for Business Managers: A Comprehensive Analysis of Legal Issues

Desklib provides solved assignments and past papers to help students succeed.

LAWS FOR BUSINESS MANAGERS

Contents
INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................. 3
Q1 (a) UNDER THE LAW OF ENGLAND AND WALES, WHAT IS A CONTRACT AND WHAT ARE THE
REQUIREMENTS FOR A VALID CONTRACT TO BE FORMED?..........................................................4
Q1 (b) WOULD RINGO BE ACCOUNTABLE TO PAY PAUL BASED ON THE ABOVE FACTS?..............5
Q2 IN LIGHT OF THE FACTS ABOVE, DISCUSS THE CRITERIA THAT JERRY WOULD NEED TO
SATISFY IN AN ACTION FOR NEGLIGENCE......................................................................................6
Q3. IDENTIFY THE MAIN BUSINESS MEDIUMS AVAILABLE TO RINGO AND HIS FRIENDS JOHN
AND YOKO AND THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF EACH OF THESE MEDIUMS..........7
Q4. IMPORTANCE OF IDENTIFYING THE CORRECT EMPLOYMENT STATUS OF ANY WORKERS. . .10
CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................... 13
REFERENCES.................................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
For managing the roles and the responsibilities of the business the managers should have to
follow the regulations and rules which have been defined by the government of the country.
This assignment focuses on business laws and their validity. Further in the assignment different
types of organizations have been discussed which defines the formation of different businesses
such as sole proprietorship, partnership etc. at the end of the assignment the employment
status of recruitment procedure has also been explained. According to the given scenario, there
are two main issues which are defined in the brief. The first issues discuss the rejection of Ringo
for paying the amount to his son and the second issue is related with the negligence of George
about cutting down of trees without thinking about the consequences which result in the loss of
customer roof.

Q1 (a) UNDER THE LAW OF ENGLAND AND WALES, WHAT IS A
CONTRACT AND WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR A VALID
CONTRACT TO BE FORMED?
CONTRACT
The contract can be defined as the laws or agreements which can be either in the written
format or in oral form. It is enacted by the supply of goods act (HMSO, 1994) in the UK. It
protects the rights of the parties who are involved in the agreement of contract. The parties
involved in the contract must be agreed upon the terms and conditions mentioned in the
contract. The contract came into existence when both parties accept the proposals of each
other (Hughes et al., 2015).
ELEMENTS OF A LEGAL CONTRACT
For a valid contract, there are some elements which need to be satisfied. There are six main
elements of the contract which needed to be satisfied. These elements are as follows –
Offer – it is considered as the first element of contact according to the contract act 1950. It can
be defined as the promise or agreement which needs to be included in the contract. This
element ensures that the contract is legal and hence acceptable from the perspective of law.
For making an offer there should be a minimum of two parties involved in the contract
(McKendrick, 2014).
Acceptance – in this step the approval of the parties involved in the contract is sought.
Acceptance of the offer is done when one party is agreed with the offer of the other party. In
case if the parties involved did not accept the offer then there will be no valid contract between
the parties (McKendrick, 2014).
Deliberation – in this step the parties analyse the features of the contract. After analysing the
features of the contract the parties agree upon the responsibilities and duties mentioned in
contract (McKendrick, 2014).

Certainty – it mentions that the terms and conditions mentioned in the agreement should be
understandable by both the parties. For ensuring the validity of the contract, the agreement
should be certain (McKendrick, 2014).
Capacity – it determines that the parties who get involved in agreement are legal according to
the age mentioned in the laws. The individual should be above 18 years for entering the
contract. Contact in which a minor has been involved will not be valid in the eyes of law
(McKendrick, 2014).
Above defined are the elements which need to be fulfilled for a valid contract. The parties who
are going to involved in the contract should be very careful before making any contract and
should be aware of the laws and regulations (McKendrick, 2014).
Q1 (b) WOULD RINGO BE ACCOUNTABLE TO PAY PAUL BASED ON THE
ABOVE FACTS?
According to the given scenario, Paul and his father agreed in their business of maintaining the
garden. Paul and his father were involved in an oral agreement. According to the English
contract law, the contractual relations and the intentions of making the contracts should be
mentioned in the agreement (Chen-Wishart, 2012). But in the case of Paul and his father due to
the oral agreement, there is no clarity of intentions. In addition to this, the parties involved in
the contract should have not gone through the legal procedure of entering the contract. Since
the legal procedure has not been followed and the intentions are not mentioned therefore,
Ringo is accountable to pay any amount of claim to his son Paul.

Q2 IN LIGHT OF THE FACTS ABOVE, DISCUSS THE CRITERIA THAT JERRY
WOULD NEED TO SATISFY IN AN ACTION FOR NEGLIGENCE.
If the petitioner is seeking the compensation and wants to win the case, therefore, the
petitioner has to satisfy all the elements by which the petitioner has been suffering from. The
elements due to which the petitioner is suffering can be the damages, injuries and losses
occurred due to the activities of the other party. If the petitioner wants to prove the accused
liable than, the petitioner has to prove the elements with the help of certain laws.
There are many remedies which can prove the accused wrong and also held him or her
responsible for his decisions and actions. These remedies have been provided by the Law of tort
(Steele, 2010). This law also provides compensation to the party who is being suffered.
According to the given case study Jerry needs to prove that the actions of George fall under the
act of negligence. Therefore, Jerry has to satisfy three main conditions which are the accused
possesses the legal obligation towards her or him, second condition defines that the legal
obligations have been violated by the accused and the third condition includes that if the
violation of obligations has caused some damages or injuries than the victim are liable to claim
the damages (Steele, 2010).
According to the given conditions, it is the responsibility of George to be careful about his
duties. He needs to be careful while the trees have been cutting down. For example: in the case
of Donoghue vs. Stevenson the court determines that the accused must be very careful while
performing the duties otherwise they have to protect someone’s property from the damages
(Steele, 2010).
According to the second condition, there is a violation of responsibilities and duties by George.
As while cutting down the trees, George did not remember that he had to measure the falling
estimation of the trees due to this the roof of the customer is damaged. The damages to the
customer’s roof have been caused due to the negligence of George (Steele, 2010).
Therefore the damages which have been faced by the customers due to negligence of the
George must be bear by the George. This is what the condition third defines that the damages

must have to be paid by the accused. Therefore, in this situation, George has to pay
compensation to the customer.
Q3. IDENTIFY THE MAIN BUSINESS MEDIUMS AVAILABLE TO RINGO AND
HIS FRIENDS JOHN AND YOKO AND THE ADVANTAGES AND
DISADVANTAGES OF EACH OF THESE MEDIUMS.
Ringo and his friends John and Yoko can adopt any business mediums. There are several
business mediums which can be adopted by them (Baik et al.,2015). Some of the most popular
business mediums are discussed below –
SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP
It is the type of business which has been carried out by an individual. Sole-proprietorship is the
business activity which is fully owned, controlled and managed by an individual. The person
who manages all the business activities is commonly known as a sole proprietor. Sol-
proprietorship firm does not have to follow any special rules and regulations implemented by
the government. It is said to be the easiest type of business which can be started without any
legal procedure. Commencement of sole proprietorship needs the only licence. If Ringo and his
friends John and Yoko wants to start their separate businesses than it is the most suitable
option for them (Twin, 2019).
Advantages of the sole proprietorship
 The fast decision-making process, since there are not so many people involved in the
business activities , therefore, the decisions taken by the owner has to be followed in the
business (Woodruff, 2019).
 Starting a sole proprietorship firm does not need any special law or regulation to come into
force.
 Profits earned in the business are enjoyed by the owner itself (i.e. either by Ringo or John or
Yoko) as they are not divided into various people (Woodruff, 2019).
Disadvantages of a sole proprietorship
 The owner is liable for all the risks and losses of business.

 Investment of capital is also limited.
 Duration of the business is not fixed since the business and the owner is considered as the
same entity.
PARTNERSHIP
This business medium is very common in today’s world of business. it is the business which has
been carried out by two or more members who mutually agrees upon the terms of the
business. to carry out the activities of the business the partners of the business has to follow
the rules and regulation as determined under the Partnership act 1890. To start a partnership
firm all the partners need to come into a valid contract in which all the terms and condition,
shares of profits of each partner has been mentioned (Morse, 2010). A partnership agreement
is very useful in dividing the profits and excluding the capital if any partner wants to leave the
business. if Ringo and his friends John and Yoko wants to start a business than it is also an
appropriate suitable option for them.
Advantages of partnership
 More capital is invested in the business as the number of members in the activities of the
business is a business is more.
 The more will be the number of partners the more will be available ideas and skills for the
growth and development of the business. Here, Ringo, John and Yoko will apply their best
skills and abilities to grow their business (Korchak, 2017).
 Establishing a partnership firm is very easy but the process of documentation is quite
lengthy.
 In the partnership firm, the working of the business is also divided among the partners and
hence does not become a load on one’s shoulders (Korchak, 2017).
Disadvantages of partnership
 The profits of the business cannot be enjoyed by a single member. It will be shared
according to the share of capital invested by each partner.
 Due to the lack of mutual understanding, the process of decision making is very slow which
affects the growth and development of the business (Korchak, 2017).

 If any partner of the firm involves in any misconduct of the wrong deed than the other
partners of the partnership firm would be liable for the actions of that partner (Korchak,
2017).
CORPORATION
It is the type of business which has been considered separate from their owners. These types of
businesses are generally managed and controlled by a board of directors. Percentage of shares
owned by any individual or company determines the ownership of a corporation. Board of
directors formulates the strategies and policies of the business which has been followed in the
working of the organization (Drucker, 2017). Since Ringo and his friend want to involve in the
activities of the business, therefore, it might not be a suitable option for them to carry out the
activities of the business.
Advantages of corporation
 Duration of the business is not affected by the joining or leaving the business by any
member.
 In this type of business, the funds of the business are generated by conducting the sales
activity which can be easily raised by the promotional activities (Drucker, 2017).
 Shareholders of the organization enjoy very limited liability in the business.
Disadvantages of corporation
 A corporate firm needs to follow the rules and regulations defined by the government of
the county.
 Commencement of the business is quite a lengthy process as the process of documentation
of business is a very time taking a process (Drucker, 2017).

Q4. IMPORTANCE OF IDENTIFYING THE CORRECT EMPLOYMENT STATUS
OF ANY WORKERS
Employment status can be defined as the rights, responsibilities and duties of a person which
an individual has to perform at the workplace. Rights and duties of the person have been
defined by the type of employment.
The business and the organization should assign appropriate employment status to the person
whom they are recruiting for their business. Depending upon the type of employment status
different rights have been defined to the employees. For Ringo and his friends John and Yoko
there are multiple options available for the type of employment status. The three main types of
employment status are as follows –
Employee – it can be defined as the type of person who works according to the conditions
mentioned in the contract of employment. The factors like a term of payment, annual leaves
and the working hours of the employees have been included in the employment contract but it
does mean that these are the only factors which have been included in the contract of
employment. The terms and conditions of the employment contract should be fulfilled in
written form. This will be presented to the employee within two months of joining. There are
some rights of employees such as statutory sick pay, pay for the holidays, minimum wages,
maternity and paternity leaves and pay etc.
Worker – it can be defined as the person who performs their duties for someone else as part of
the contract. They are provided very limited rights. They are generally known as casual workers.
Casual workers do not possess any professional set of skills, therefore, they are not assigned
any responsible roles in the organization. the rights which have been assigned to the workers
are minimum wages, statutory minimum holiday pay, they are not liable to work for more than
48 hours in a week etc.
A self-employed – self-employed person does not possess the employment rights similar to the
employees and the workers. Instead of this, they are the persons who used to run their own
business and provide services to their customers. The persons who are self-employed work

according to their terms and conditions. Generally, self-employed persons did not work
according to the employment laws. There are some rights to which self-employed person are
entitled to- safety and security of their health, safeguards against discrimination etc. they are
generally not entitled to any holiday pay or minimum wages.
For an individual, it is very necessary to know about their employment status and the rights and
duties assigned to them as part of employment status. These were some of the employment
statuses which Ringo, John and Yoko have to identify during the time of recruitment for their
business. Employment status also helps the recruiter in analysing the knowledge, skills and
talent which should be possessed by the individual. Knowledge about the employment status
also helps in implementing the rights and duties of the individuals. It also helps in achieving the
targets and goals of the business effectively. Ringo John and Yoko should make their employees
clear about their status. It will help their business in the given manner –
Productivity – appropriate employment status motivates the employees and hence increases
the growth and productivity of the organization. It sometimes removes the need for motivating
the employees.
Satisfaction – when the employees get correct employment status they feel satisfied with their
job and feel comfortable working in the organization. Satisfied employees are generally more
focused towards their work and duties as compared to the unsatisfied people. it also leads to
an increase in the productivity of the organization.
Confidence – it boosts the confidence level of the employees and encourages them to perform
critical tasks. Boost in the level of confidence of the employees leads to the improvement in the
working of the employees.
Trust – if the employees have been provided with appropriate employment status than they
become loyal towards the business and does not think of changing the organization frequently.
Building confidence of the employees in the organization is crucial for the growth and
expansion of the business.
If Ringo, John and Yoko fails in assigning appropriate and suitable employment status than they
have to face the following disadvantages –

If the employees are not provided status according to their skills and knowledge than, they may
feel useless and may think of changing the organization. It may affect the working of the
organization.
The inappropriate status also leads to dissatisfaction among employees. if the employees may
not be satisfied with their job than they will not give their best efforts in the working.
Employees might not focus on their work due to the inappropriate employment status.
Therefore, it can be said that these factors are responsible for the positive and negative growth
of the business. Hence, Ringo, John and Yoko must be very careful at the time of assigning
employment status to the individuals during recruitment.