Monday, October 04, 2010

Equality Bill

I'd just like to say a quick thank you to Harriett Harman.

Not for lending me a stab vest or teaching me how to get off a driving penalty, but for helping me with a difficult decision. For a while Chalk Enterprises has been considering taking on an employee, but with employment law being such a nightmare for small businesses, I've been weighing up the pros and cons for a while. With the passing of 'Harman's Law' however, I have made up my mind.

The 2010 Equality Bill provides so many opportunities for employees to completely stuff us at no cost whatsoever to themselves that it effectively puts small employers into the same bracket as those who point at aeroplanes and shout in the street, or approach random passers by with assurances that Jesus will save them.

If small businesses are supposed to get us out of recession, then laws like this guarantee a jobless recovery without any doubt.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think you wil find the employment equality laws do not appply in full to firms who only have 1 employee - I think it starts at 4 or 5 staff.

Paul said...

That's a small business !

Anonymous said...

Welcome to the club. You've made the right decision! If you think about contracting stuff out instead, beware IR35 & the taxman. You might find that he deems you to be employing somebody who you thought was a contractor & then life gets really hard for both of you.

If it wasn't for these stupid laws I'm certain that a lot of small businesses would employ many more people. I would have.

Public sector parasites and career politicians have absolutely no idea of the realities of commercial life. The law of unintended consequences always applies and has a lot to answer for.

The next treat you're in for is when you think about renting out property (residential or commercial). Another crock of shite to be avoided. If you do it anyway, I'm afraid many tenants are not as nice as the law thinks them to be. Assume the worst about them from the start & you might survive a little better than otherwise. Trust me - I started out trying to be Mr Nice Guy, doing as I would have been done by etc., & learned the hard way.

Ray.