Employers In The UK Face Massive Amounts of Legislation

As an employer or landlord in the UK today you are faced with a huge amount of legislation, the existence of some of which you may never have been aware. Most of us who start a business start it in a small way – maybe even from home – and when it is successful, assuming it is, we expand it by taking on an employee. Then we may need to take on another employee, and another, move to a larger office, take on a couple more employees, and so on. This is the way that many businesses grow.

However, when you are building your business, all your energies are directed towards gaining new customers or clients and expanding as quickly as you can. That is what a successful business is about. Getting it off the ground and gaining new customers fast. Sure, that means that you have to hire people, but that is part of your expansion. You only hire people when you have enough for them to do, so the more people you hire is a reflection of how well your business is doing.

Providing it is making a profit, of course. But we are assuming here that you are expanding your business by producing innovative products or providing better or quicker service than your competitors. If you are not making a profit, you have to go back to the drawing board.

But all your attention is on how you can draw in more customers, ways to sell them innovative services, ways to sell add-ons – anything at all that increases your bottom line - which is what a business is all about.

Have you noticed that the whole thing about this commentary so far is that it is all about creating and expanding a business? Which is what you should be concentrating on.

While you are doing all this, has it ever crossed your mind to wonder if you should have an EICR? Let me hazard a guess: I would suspect that it hasn’t.

You probably don’t even know what an EICR is. It is an Electrical Installation Condition Report. Still not with me?

It is a report on the condition of the electrical wiring in your office, factory, or whatever: the wiring behind the walls, the plug sockets, and so on. Why would you want one of those? Because electrical wiring disintegrates over time depending upon a handful of factors and it may come to a point where it needs replacing. And if there is an issue it may affect the health and safety of your employees.

Here’s the crunch: as an employer you are responsible for the health and safety of your employees. So if there is a problem with the wiring, that is down to you.

Here’s another one: when did you last carry out a fire risk assessment? Are you beginning to get the idea? The law requires you to carry out a fire risk assessment and, when you have more than four employees, keep a written report of your findings. Theoretically, you can do this yourself. Assuming you are a suitably qualified electrician and not just a greengrocer, publican, or manufacturer of woolly teddy bears.

Yes, unfortunately, when you are an employer these days you have all sorts of responsibilities that would probably never have crossed your mind. That is the way things are in the 21st century.

However, the good news is that help is at hand. For instance, when it comes to a fire risk assessment you can call in a professional fire risk assessor to do it for you. A fire risk assessor can take a professional overview of your premises and provide you with the report that you are required to keep.

Similarly, you can call on a qualified electrician to provide you with an EICR. Far better to spend a few bob on these sorts of things and know that your business is secure and you are complying with the relevant laws.

It would be well worth your while to take a morning off and visit your local council in order to check if there are any other requirements and obligations that you should be aware of.