Construction sector – Useful Employment Law & HR
information
NatWest
Mentor can help your
construction business with its Employment Law compliance and HR
needs.
Employment status can be a tricky – and costly - issue
The boundaries between employees, subcontractors and genuinely
self-employed traders are complex and not always clear-cut.
Employees have additional rights compared to other types of worker,
including the right to claim unfair dismissal. All workers, except
genuinely self-employed traders, have the right to paid
holidays.
Getting a worker’s employment status wrong can be costly, as an
employment tribunal might rule your business is liable for things
such as redundancy payments, unfair dismissal compensation, and
holiday pay.
You should:
- Be clear about who your employees are
- Ensure you issue appropriate contracts of employment to all
employees
- Ensure you understand the rights of other workers to
entitlements such as paid holiday
Mentor can provide:
- Appropriate terms and conditions of employment and contract
documentation
- An Employee Handbook containing procedures appropriate to your
business
- 24/7 telephone advice and support on matters such as employment
status and workers’ rights.
Ensuring workers have the right to work in the UK is
important
With a traditionally peripatetic workforce, construction
employers are used to workers moving around. When it comes to
recruiting new workers however, employers now face fines of up to
£10,000 if they don’t check employees have the legal right to work
in the UK.
You should:
- Adopt a strict procedure for pre-employment right to work and
identity checks
- Apply procedures in a non-discriminatory way, to all
workers
- Keep good records.
NatWest
Mentor can provide:
- Advice and guidance on recruitment and pre-employment vetting
and verification
- E-learning modules including basics on recruiting employees and
the process from job offer to induction
- 24 / 7 Telephone Advice and support.
Keeping things going is important
Staff absenteeism and poor timekeeping can cause problems to
your construction business. Workers who fail to show up on one
trade can have a severe knock-on effect on other trades, losing you
valuable time and costing money.
You can’t prevent all unforeseen staff absences, but you can
operate policies and apply contract terms and conditions that
discourage it.
You should:
- Have robust absence reporting policies and management
procedures in place
- Ensure sick pay policies don’t operate to encourage
intermittent absences
- Understand when it is appropriate to take disciplinary action
against staff who repeatedly cause problems.
NatWest
Mentor can provide:
- An Employee Handbook with appropriate absence policies and
procedures
- Online management tools to record and monitor staff absence,
and highlight any triggers for further action
- 24 / 7 telephone advice to guide you through any disciplinary
proceedings.