endless employment legislation

madenuf

I have to let off some steam here....so sorry! I work as an HR generalist for one of the good guys, a small company with about 60 employees who are paid well above industry norms and whose welfare is our genuine concern and is supported by a very low rate of resignations.

I have recently learned about the tone and content of NERA inspections which of course comes with the constant reminder that every employer is supposed to stay ahead of over 70 pieces of complex employment legislation and that "ignorance is no excuse".

I know that the necessity for this legislation is driven by the likes of rogue companies who exploit workers but these companies have to be in the minority, and how much assistance does an "employee" need. The amount of government expenditure spent on labour courts, tribunals, websites, literature, inspectors etc is proportionately way more than the resources available to a battered wife or abused child.

And the wording on these websites and the tone used by these departments is always prejudiced in favour of "the employee's rights". You never hear about the employers rights.

So ignorance is no excuse but why can some of this expenditure dedicated to the rights of employees not be spent in distributing information to employers about changes to legislation and the like? The govenrment has a database of every single employee through the company number and yet I have never received any notification that it will be a criminal offense to do x and i will be subject to penalties if I do Y. Instead I am expected to cough up some more money to belong to a group like IBEC. What about the employer's rights? If I wanted to set up a new company right this minute I still wouldnt even get a starter pack from the government listing information on all the relevant and current legislation.

Surely there is a constitutional blip that i can be held accountable for something of which I had no knowledge. Can you imagine if we tried to hold back the wages of an employee for some infraction of which he knew nothing.

NERA will soon be able to issue spot fines for something like a failure to disclose large signs with clear wording regarding employment rights (which rights, and how much detail is of course a grey area as with anything to do with employment legislation). Could you imagine the uproar if we imposed a spot fine on an employee?

please dont misunderstand me. If there is any exploitation out there I want it eradicated, but not at a cost of throttling legitimate companies who are doing their best to stay functional as the economy goes through the floor. Employers create employment - shouldnt there be some respect for us. How did we ALL become the big baddie against whom legislation and inspection seems to be the government's top priority?

Arent there bigger issues that should receive more attention and funding? Am I right that our priorities are so screwed up and who is responsible?

Deep breathe now. Sorry for the rant.