Legislation
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Protecting The Worker
There are many laws that provide protection for all employers and employees.
equal pay
The Equal Pay Act, 1970, stated that an employee who does a similar job to a member of the opposite sex is entitled to equal pay.
discrimination
The Sex Discrimination Act, 1975 and Race Relations Act, 1976, made it illegal to discriminate against somebody on the basis of their sex or ethnic group. The Disability Discrimination Act, 1995, made it illegal for businesses with 20 or more employees to discriminate on the basis of a physical or mental disability. Businesses must be fair in their recruitment, dismissal, offering of conditions of employment, training and promotion. It is presently not illegal to discriminate on the basis of age.
employment rights and working hours
The European Union Working Time Directive, 1999 and The Working Time Regulations, 1998, allowed workers to limit the number of hours they worked to 13 hours per day and 48 per week (although there are a few exceptions). It also gave workers four weeks paid leave per year.
The 1999 Employment Relations Act increased employees’ rights by giving women longer maternity leave.
The Employment Rights Act, 1996 gives employees who will be employed for more than one month the right to be given a written statement of employment. It also states that employees who have two years of service since the age of 18 are entitled to redundancy payments
health and safety
The Health and Safety Executive enforce the law. They are allowed to enter any business and order changes to be made if the laws are not followed. The Factories Act, 1961, the Health and Safety at Work Act, 1974, and many others set out minimum standards that would ensure the welfare of workers.
access to information
The Data Protection Act, 1984, stated that employees should be allowed access to any information held about them. The business should also take care to ensure that the information is up to date.
Protecting the Customer
The law provides protection for customers from businesses. Many consumers are now more aware of their rights thanks to the work of the Consumers’ Association and television programmes such as Watchdog. The law covers areas such as health and safety, the sale of products, the labelling of products and the misuse of information.
The law covering consumers is complicated, and there are many Acts. What a consumer needs to remember is that she or he is the first line of defence against bad practice. A consumer should always be careful of what they buy, read instructions, check for faults etc. the law establishes three key rights:
- products must be ‘as described’
- products must be ‘fit for purpose’ i.e. do the job that they are supposed to do – a hammer should knock in nails, a raincoat should be waterproof etc.
- products must be ‘of satisfactory quality’ i.e. should work correctly and as described
Acts
The Food Safety Act, 1990 made it an offence to sell food that was not of the quality expected by the customer. It was hoped that this law would boost customer confidence in UK food both at home and abroad. It states that it is illegal to sell food that is unfit to eat and all food must be correctly labelled. Businesses must ‘take all reasonable precautions’ when dealing with food products.
The Sale of Goods Acts, 1979, 1983 and 1994 stated that products sold must be able to do what they were supposed to do and be of ‘satisfactory quality’ This includes appearance, safety, finish, without defects and how long the product should last. The Consumer Protection Act, 1987, backed by further European Union law, made businesses responsible for any damage that their defective goods caused. These laws help to ensure that goods sold are of a high quality.
The Trade Descriptions Acts, 1968 and 1972 made it a criminal offence for businesses to make false or misleading claims about a good or service. All packaging and promotional material must provide accurate information about the price, contents and what the product should do.
The Weights and Measures Act, 1963 and 1985 made it illegal to sell goods below their stated weight. Weights and Measures Inspectors, employed by the Local Authority, will regularly check, for example, scales in shops and petrol pumps to ensure that they are accurate. Local Authorities or Councils also employ Trading Standards Officers and Environmental Health Officers, to make sure that customers are being treated safely and fairly.
The Business Names Act, 1985, made it illegal for businesses to not clearly display the owners name on documentation like invoices and receipts.
The Consumer Protection Act, 1987, made it illegal to overcharge or use misleading or unfair price comparisons on its products.
These laws allow customers to buy goods and services with confidence. Businesses must be careful to stick to the laws otherwise they may be prosecuted, which may lead to a large fine and damaging publicity.
What can the consumer do?
If products do not come up to standard, consumers can return them and demand a refund of their money, or a replacement. The shop which sold the faulty product does not have a choice. It must exchange or refund or will be breaking the law. If the business refuses, the consumer can take it to court to get the refund. If a service is not carried out properly the customer can demand that the original business finishes the job or employ a competitor business and pass the charges on to the original business.
Independent Organisations
There are various organisations that are independent of the government who seek to improve the quality of goods and services sold by businesses.
The Consumers Association produce a magazine called “Which?” that contains lots of information about the quality of goods and services sold. The Consumers Association will try and help customers with complaints against businesses.
The British Standards Institute (BSI) attempts to set high standards of safety and quality for goods sold in the UK. Businesses can have their products inspected by the BSI to see if it meets certain standards and for safety. If the good meets a certain standard, for example, if sunglasses meet certain quality standards, by only letting a certain amount of UV light through, they will be awarded BS 2724. If a product meets certain safety standards it will be awarded the kitemark, for example car child seats and bicycle helmets.
During the 1980s and 1990s the Government sold many businesses; this is known as privatisation. These former nationalised industries became public limited companies. Many of these newly privatised businesses were the only business in their market, for example, British Telecom was the only business that provided telephone services. Regulators were set up to ensure these businesses did not abuse their position as a monopoly by charging their customers too much. The regulators told the businesses by how much they were allowed to increase prices, in fact some businesses were ordered to lower prices. Another responsibility of some regulators was to introduce competition in the markets, for example by allowing other businesses to provide electricity, gas and telephone services to homes and businesses. Examples of regulators are:
- The Office of Water Services (OFWAT);
- Office of Communications (OFCOM); and
- The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (OFGEM).
Codes Of Practice
There are many organisations that have produced codes of practice that aim to improve the behaviour of businesses.
We have already looked at the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) which ensures that adverts follow the British Code of Advertising and Sales Promotion Practice.
The Independent Television Commission (ITC) was responsible for controlling advertising on the television and radio. It has now been replaced by the Office of Communications (OFCOM). There are many rules regarding advertising on the radio and television, such as, actors are not allowed to appear on adverts during a programme they are on.
The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) has produced a code of practice that outlines how a responsible travel agent should behave. Travel agents are only allowed to join ABTA of they follow this code.
Links
Commission for Racial Equality
Office of Water Services (OFWAT)
The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (OFGEM)
Association of British Travel Agents
