When managing people it is essential that we treat them well and treat them fairly. As we study different aspects of management it becomes clear that it is important to motivate people, to invest in their development and learning, and to support them as they develop in their careers. These are all important matters that should take up a considerable amount of management time

However, there is also the need to operate within the law. Doing something that breaches the law is likely to de-motivate employees because they will perceive that they are not been treated correctly. It is also likely to take up a lot of management time whilst related grievances are addressed and even, perhaps, attending court to respond to a claim

In the UK the law relating to employment has been one of the fastest growing areas of law. This has led to the current coalition government becoming concerned that employment law is too onerous for employers and so there are certain changes being made that will reduce some of the burdens on employers

Despite the changes that are planned (which we will address as we work through this module) there are still a lot of legal issues relating to the employment of people. Managers need to know about this law. Even if an organisation has a company solicitor, managers still need to be aware of the parameters within which they can operate
As employment law is such a vast topic it is not possible to cover every aspect in one module. In this module we are going to focus on the issues that managers need to consider most often. We are going to start by thinking about employment status. We are going to consider the different types of status and what managers might want to recruit into an organisation. We will then think about the specific issue of working time

We are then going to look at the process followed in the Employment Tribunal. This is the place that legal claims relating to employment are heard, and hence it is very important that managers understand how the process works

After that we will look in depth at the two areas which result in the most claims being brought before the Employment Tribunal, and hence the areas that managers really do need to understand – dismissal and discrimination

Finally, we will take a brief overview of other areas covered by employment law