SMEs face employment law difficulties

Many SMEs are still struggling to put in place required policies and standards set out under employment law, according to a new survey.

The latest National Employment Law Survey from the Small Firms Association shows that less than a quarter of small and medium-sized companies — 23%, to be exact — have measures in place to record employees’ working-time, despite there being a legal obligation, under the Organisation of Working Time Act 2001, to do so.

The survey also found that 41% of companies currently have no email or internet policy in place concerning their employees’ usage.

“This is an area that employers do not realise can cause major issues for them. The growing propensity of email and internet abuse, across society, is now finding expression in the workplace.

“Employers must remember they will be held legally liable if their employees misuse their IT systems,” said SFA assistant director, Avine McNally.

She added: “Being on the wrong side of just one piece of legislation, however unwittingly, can exact a very high price on a small business. The extent, scope and impact of employment legislation impacts on small firms hardest, as they are least able to absorb the loss of flexibility and increased costs which occur as a result.”

“It is essential that small firms are aware of their obligations under the various pieces of employment law, and be proactive in the introduction of policies to ensure the protection of all parties in the workplace,” Ms McNally said.

However, the latest SFA study also showed that many SMEs are working to bring themselves into line with requirements — the vast majority having policies in place for health and safety, anti-bullying/harassment and discipline and dismissal issues.

Many firms, however, have complained about the amount of bureaucracy and the costs involved in meeting regulations.

“It is the strongly-held view of small business that enterprise development in Ireland is unnecessarily and severely handicapped by the amount of bureaucracy and the costs associated with it.

“Imposing significant compliance and administrative costs on firms weakens the ability of businesses to adapt to changing economic conditions,” commented Ms McNally.

The survey showed that 60% of small firms view compliance with employment law as a “significant regulatory burden”, while over 90% of them have seen no reduction in the administrative burden involved with complying.