Importance of Understanding Employment Legal Requirement - Coursework Example

Name Tutor Course Date Introduction Employment legal requirement is a wide area that controls the way employers need to treat their employees, former workers and those applying for jobs. It incorporates everything concerning employment, except the collective bargaining and negotiation process. The law of employment deals with the obligations and rights of workers and employers within the workplace. Failure to meet particular duties or to respect the rights of employee normally results to a huge number of litigations. In an organized society, laws are there to determine what is permitted and what is not permitted. This also applies to businesses. Businesses must act and must be permitted to operate according to law. They also need a right to be protected from having their core value destroyed when they have not gone against any law (Philips 2004). Importance of understanding employment legal requirement Understanding of legal requirements relating to employment of people is very essential in organizations. Privacy issues, a legal requirement in employment, have become most important nowadays because of keen concerns that individuals’ demand for privacy has been threatened by a number of organizational exercises. For instance, concerns have been brought up about the implications of physical plans of work environments on acoustical and visual privacy. Organizations have also, at high rate, collected large amounts of information regarding job applicants and recent workers to help in decision making. For instance, in trying to hire most skilled employees, organizations routinely perform background checks, collecting information regarding education, background, family, personality and medical history of applicants. Therefore understanding of individuals’ privacy is very important since the individuals’ personal information in the employee databases, human resources information systems and networked environments allows companies to gather voluminous information that might improve the company’s decision making process (Stoney 2007). . Human resource information systems utilization is increasing rapidly since the systems are an integral part of several companies’ human resource-planning efforts. Human resource information systems are believed to enhance the abilities of human resource managers to come up with reports, use the skills of employees effectively and minimize the costs of labor. Another area in which technology implication on privacy is clearly manifested is in the electronic monitoring and employees’ surveillance. Several large companies normally monitor their employees electronically since it is legally allowed. More than forty million US employees are being monitored electronically. Understanding electronic monitoring is very essential since it normally act as a useful management tool that assists organizations and their workers. For instance, employers may utilize internet monitoring in discouraging productivity loss due to recreational use, sexual harassment suits avoidance, eliminating the download of pirate software and preservation of bandwidth. Organizations can also collect personal information to discourage counter-productive behavior. For instance, drug abuse has been related with a decline in corporate profitability and enhance in the occurrence of accidents that are work related. Understanding of employees’ personal information is therefore important since it enables managers in sorting out behaviors that are suitable in minimizing accidents at work and in improvement of the company’s profitability (Stoney 2006). Understanding of employment legal requirement is very important since it offers significant protections against unsuitable forms of discrimination. For instance, by virtue of various employment laws, many employers are currently prohibited from discriminating on matters pertaining individual personal information such as age, disability, religion, nationality, marital status, race, gender and sexual preference. Discrimination does not have a definite definition. It can be generally referred as anything that unsuitably causes adverse outcomes to an employee. For instance, discrimination incorporates refusing to hire a qualified candidate because of his or her age, race, ethnicity, gender and many more. Discrimination also incorporates firing a qualified worker may be because the worker belongs to a particular religion or the worker comes from another nation. Giving a qualified employee promotion may be because she is a woman instead of a man is another form of discrimination. Employment law offers significant employee protections concerning fair and equal pay. The law might need employers to pay a minimum wage. It may also require that all workers be paid fairly despite of their gender. This implies that an employee cannot be paid less because of his or her gender. Understanding the employment legal requirement is important since it can create the workplaces to be safe for workers, even if the worker works in a job position that is said to be dangerous. How understanding employment legal requirement apply to the recruitment and selection of employees Development of a company depends on abilities of individuals working in it. Employees’ selection is one of the most significant decisions a company faces. Individuals participating in the recruitment process need to find out if an applicant has relevant skills, experience and capability for the work in question. They also need to observe various legal requirements concerning staff recruitment. Therefore, understanding the legal requirement that relates to employment of people enables those participating in recruitment and selection of individuals to work through the process very fast, efficiently and legally to make sure that their company recruits a right person (Steven 2006). Recruiting individuals who are not suitable for the company can easily lead to enhanced labor turnover, enhanced costs for the company and reduction of morale within the prevailing workforce. Such individuals are likely to be dissatisfied, unlikely to offer their best and end up exiting willingly or unwillingly from their jobs when their unsuitability is known. They cannot provide the flexibility and commitment that several organizations are looking for. Managers therefore need to understand well the requirements needed when employing individuals. Understanding legal requirements that relates to people’s employment is very useful since it assist employers to have legal responsibility that ensures that no unlawful discrimination happens in selection and recruitment process on the race, sex, age, sexual orientation, disability and religion or belief. Equality of chances is an integral part of selection and recruitment process. Employees therefore need to provide the necessary training and encouragement to any group that is under-presented. Understanding employment legal requirement also enables employees and their representative to have an interest in reasonable and non-discriminatory recruitment and selection policies (Steven 2006). The equal employment opportunity commission can implement the law that does not encourage discrimination in the selection, recruitment and treatment of workers. Under this law, organizations might seek workers based on their capability to do the job that prevail. Organizations are expected to declare that they are equal opportunity employers when advertising for the positions. For instance, in a job interview, an employer might ask the candidate if he or she is planning to have more kids. This type of question is usually considered illegal because it is not relevant to the job requirements. Understanding employment law assists employers to maintain abreast of changes in the labor market. Employers need to ensure that their efforts of recruitment are not wasted or directed to a small labor force. Shortage of skills might occur suddenly against forecast demand. A clear understanding of prevailing legal requirement enables the company to increase the knowledge it has concerning skills that are available and those that it lacks thus assisting in pinpointing areas that need future development. The knowledge on employment legal requirement assists organizations in adopting recruitment and retention policies that are most effective and competitive. The provision of training and development chances is always a strong attraction to capable recruits. The learning and skills council therefore can provide advice and assistance concerning recruitment and selection thus recruiting workers with right personalities. Employers are capable of encouraging a favorable work-life balance in the organization by providing consideration to more flexible means of working. Employers are able to introduce some working arrangements that are more flexible such as job-sharing, working part time, flexi-time, and working from home and school term-time contracts. The differences on the working’s standard forms can disclose vacancy to individual who might otherwise be incapable of considering it. The provision of assistance with domestic care plans and costs can be highly attractive to individuals with responsibilities. Several organizations are currently providing family to friendly policies. These are always created in line with local business links and chambers of commerce that can offer examples of good exercise. The labor force balance is changing with some enhancement in women’s number, young individuals’ size and in particular the size of older workers that are available for work. An employer who is knowledgeable enough can manage to choose the group that suits a particular job position. Employment law assists employers in acquiring information concerning the value of labor market. The information provides some forecasts to employers thus enabling them to decide how they can plan well for future recruitment. Determining the basic job requirements might be well understood by designing a description of the job that is based on essential qualifications. The job requirements should fall within the lawful requirements of selection procedures. For instance, a college degree might not be needed for a receptionist job that demands answering a telephone system. In case a catalog organization is searching for models to represent female line of clothing, there might be a requirement that is legal and compliant to women. Hiring male to model female clothing is definitely inappropriate. To achieve these employers need to understand well the legal requirements that relates to individuals’ employment. Conclusion It is quite clear that understanding the legal requirement relating to employment of people is very important to both employees and employers. The knowledge on employment legal requirement is essential to employers particularly on privacy issues. Employees’ Personal information that is usually collected during employment is important to an organization since it assist in decision making and in improving the company’s profitability. The legal requirement is also important on the side of employees since it protects them against any kind of discrimination. The understanding of legal requirement that relates to employment of people is highly applicable in recruitment and selection of employees. It assists employers in determining the right individuals that are suitable in the available job positions. The knowledge on employment law is very useful especially in avoiding unlawful discrimination during the recruitment and selection process. Works Cited G. Stoney Alder, Marshal Schminke, Serry W. Noel. The impact of individual ethics on reactions Philips ken.What is a job? Institute of public affairs, June 2004; 56, 2 pg 36. Stoney, G. Alder, , Marshall Schminke and Terry W. Noel. The Impact of Individual Ethics on Reactions to Potentially Invasive HR Practices, Journal of business ethics (2007) 75:201– 214. Steven E. Gump. Who gets the job? Recruitment and selection at a ‘second-generation’, Int. J. of Human Resource Management 17:5 May 2006 842-859. Read More