Changes are often being made to employment laws, and it can be hard for busy companies to keep up with them and ensure that they are always compliant. However, there are a few points to take into consideration when trying to do this, that will help you stay on the right side of the law and treat your employees fairly and responsibly:
Firstly, you must decide who is responsible for checking that your company is always up to date with employment laws:
If you have an HR person or team, they must ensure that you adhere to any changes to employment laws. However, if you have complex HR needs or do not have an adequate team, then outsourcing is a fantastic way of staying compliant with all laws related to employment. When you outsource HR, you get a dedicated team of specialists who know their responsibilities inside out, and who pay close attention to everything little thing that occurs within the world of employment and employee rights. If they can’t keep you on the right side of the law at all times, nobody can.
Make sure that your in-house HR department are especially vigilant at the following times:
- Election season
Policy changes are always being campaigned for by politicians at all levels, and these will include employment policies. Businesses need to be aware of these at all times since some of the policy changes may eventually become law.
- When new people take office
Let’s use the Trump administrations pause and revisiting of the Obama era changes to white collar overtime exemption rules, as an example of how newly elected politicians sometimes choose to delay or roll back employment laws that previous administrations have passed while in office. It’s important to note that if you outsource your HR needs, you can rely on their team to keep up to date with all employment laws, at all times, and take it as given that they will pay even closer attention at the above mentioned times of the year.
What can you do if you find that you’re out of compliance?
It can be an overnight occurrence, that a business is suddenly out of compliance, and if you’re not careful, you could be in big trouble before you know it. If you do discover that you’re not in compliance with existing or new employment laws, then you need to take immediate steps to try and fix the problem; this becomes especially pertinent if the compliance issue is brought to your attention by an employee themselves, and you could face costly legal action if found guilty.
Again, outsourcing your HR requirements is one of the most efficient ways of ensuring that no employee ever takes legal action against you for breaking employment laws, as they will prevent this from happening in the first place by keeping your company compliant at all times. If you would like to know more about employment laws and how you and your business can stay on the right side of the law, contact a professional HR outsourcing provider today.