Sports Direct Workplace Legislation and Regulations Report

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ASSESSMENT 2
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Law which regulates business organisation...............................................................................3
Workplace legislation at Sports Direct......................................................................................3
The regulation relating to the management of health and safety, 1999.................................4
Regulations for avoiding manual handling, 1992..................................................................4
The policy of six strikes.........................................................................................................4
Regulation regarding the minimum wages and deductions...................................................4
Health and Safety at Workplace Act of 1994.........................................................................5
Collaborations with trade unions...........................................................................................5
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................5
References..................................................................................................................................6
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Introduction
Every business organisation establishes certain aims and targets to be fulfilled within a
prescribed time. These aims of companies are missioned keeping into consideration the
principles of the legal system of the country. The law shall be followed by every organisation
in order to ensure its smooth running and avoiding penalties. The current law of the nation
has a hold over every business organisation in order to ensure peace and make sure that the
business is not run for an illegal purpose.
Law which regulates business organisation:
The organisation formed for any purpose shall be in compliance with the federal, local and
state laws which is administered by the regulatory agencies. The following is the ways in
which the government has a hold over business organisations:
1. Forming a code of tax
2. Labour and employment laws
3. Trust laws
4. Laws relating to advertising
5. Laws regulating environmental aspects
6. Laws regulating provisions of the privacy
7. Laws relating to licence (Wood, 2019).
Apart from the government’s and the legislation’s role over business organisations, there are
also provisions for the company to make and draw internal legislation for the functioning of
the company. These regulations are formed by the managing directors of the company in
order to ensure the efficient and effective running of the company.
Workplace legislation at Sports Direct:
The third report of the Sports Direct International Company which is the largest retailer of
sports product in the United Kingdom provides for the steps which are taken as a part of
internal legislation at the workplace. The workplace legislation and regulation is important to
safeguard and protect the interest of employees as well as the organisation. These regulations
are in the form of a codified regulatory statute which applies to businesses and it is the duty
of the management team to make sure these legislations are implemented properly.
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The regulation relating to the management of health and safety, 1999:
The duties of the employer under this regulation is to ensure that there are adequate health
facilities available for the workers which include proper lighting, ventilation, sanitary
facilities and washing facilities. It also includes refreshment facilities for the employees.
There shall be adequate maintenance of passages to ensure they are nor slipping and tripping
(Wood, 2019).
The report of Sports Direct shows that there has been negligence in ensuring safety measures
and health of the workers as there has been a number of cases encountered from last few
years which also includes some major injuries. Hence, there is an urgent need for
implementing health-related regulations in the Sports Direct warehouse in order to prevent
the workers from hazards.
Regulations for avoiding manual handling, 1992:
The provisions of this regulation make an obligation upon the employers to make sure that
there is an avoidance of activities which involves manual handling as it incurs more risk.
Further, the health and the characteristics of the worker shall also be taken into consideration
to understand how much can the worker lift. The Sports Direct company has witnessed a lot
of accidents and frequent ambulance visit due to negligence in the workplace. Though there
are safety measures implemented in the company, there is a need for more caution and care in
this respect (Wood, 2019).
The policy of six strikes:
This is another legislative policy which is used by the Sports Direct company in order to
ensure workplace discipline as under this policy the employees shall be terminated if they
continuously engage in activities other than work. But questions have been raised many times
regarding the fairness of this policy and it has been raised that this policy should be amended
and should not be cruel and unfair (Quest cover, 2016).
Regulation regarding the minimum wages and deductions:
There have been regulatory frameworks which ensured that the workers shall be paid
minimum wages as prescribed under the provisions of law and there shall be an
implementation of these frameworks as the workers in Sports Direct are paid less than their
minimum wage. Also, there is a need for looking at the working conditions of the workers in
order to assure they are not suppressed (Hale, et. al., 2015).
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Health and Safety at Workplace Act of 1994:
Further, there is also an Act enacted as the Health and Safety at Workplace Act of 1994
which ensures proper health care facilities and safety measures for the employees and
workers. It is also a duty of the managers and employees to assure there is no health hazard
and risk of any kind to the workers. There shall be proper record maintained regarding the
incidents and accidents which took place at the workplace. Hence, the Sports Direct
Company has also taken initiative to ensure the application of these measures but there are
still implements needed to ensure effective working (Karanika and Weyman, 2013).
Collaborations with trade unions:
The Sports Direct has worked hard to look at the interest of the employees and workers and
thus has collaborated a trade union as Unite the Union. This has mainly collaborated in order
to establish the best possible negotiation regarding the terms of the workplace, its conditions
and payments. It has also helped in establishing healthy relations among workers and their
employers. The company looks forward towards the success of this union and ensures that by
this the number of accidents and mismanagement shall also be avoided (Holgate, 2015).
Conclusion
Thus, the legislative structure of the United Kingdom is framed keeping in mind the changing
needs of the workers and organisations. It also ensures that a proper check and balance
concept is established at the workplace by which the legislation keeps an eye on the internal
management of the company. It is also to ensure that the rights and duties of the employees
and workers are not violated and the company ensures the full exercise of rights to the
workers.
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References
 Hale, A., Borys, D. and Adams, M., 2015. Safety regulation: the lessons of workplace
safety rule management for managing the regulatory burden. Safety science Vol. 71.
Pp. 112-122.
 Holgate, J., 2015. Community organising in the UK: A new approach for trade
unions? Economic and Industrial Democracy Vol. 36(3). Pp. 431-455.
 Karanika, M. and Weyman, A.K., 2013. Optimising workplace interventions for
health and well-being: a commentary on the limitations of the public health
perspective within the workplace health arena. International Journal of Workplace
Health Management Vol. 6(2). Pp. 104-117.
 Quest cover, 2016. Employment practices under question at Sports Direct [Online].
www.questcover.com Available at: https://www.questcover.com/news/employment-
practices-under-question-at-sports-direct/. (Accessed on 3rd May 2019).
 Wood, M., 2019. The 7 Major Government Regulations on Business [Online].
www.fundera.com. Available at: https://www.fundera.com/blog/government-
regulations-on-business. (Accessed on 3rd May 2019).
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