In growing companies where things happen fast and furiously, often, the last thing on one’s mind is employment law and regulations. But occasionally, you will need to slow down and ensure that you are hiring within the parameters of the law to avoid issues down the track. Also, maintaining clear and transparent recruitment processes helps promote fairness and will 100% help you attract higher calibre talent.
There are so many things to think about when hiring. For example, are you sure you adhere to the equal employment opportunity acts? You could be at significant risk if, during the recruitment process, your candidates are treated unfairly when it comes to various factors such as age, colour, religion, gender etc.
Beyond that, and put the legalities aside for a minute, don’t you want your company to maintain a positive brand and reputation? We’ve seen businesses with great products killed by negative reputation content plastered all over Glassdoor and Google because they don’t take care of the approach to recruitment and don’t have the appropriate employee contracts in place. Turning around bad street credibility can be costly, time inefficient, and sometimes almost impossible.
You must also ask yourself: are you interviewing in a legal and appropriate manner? Questions should be fair and unbiased, structured and certainly not discriminatory. And then, there are background checks. What on earth are you allowed to ask these days…well…nothing should violate privacy rights or discriminate against protected groups. Additionally, employment contracts should reflect the agreed-upon terms and comply with employment laws. You don’t want to get caught out by the government or by disgruntled employees down the track if it comes to severance, termination, and notice.
When you face all these regulations, which might stifle your ability to freely judge a candidate’s character and go with the flow, why on earth would you bother? It’s just too much. Have no fear; it’s not as bad as it sounds. If you understand the laws as they relate to recruitment and the legal requirements behind employee contracts, handbooks, share schemes and benefits, within that framework, you will be able to really enjoy the process of getting to know an individual who may take your business to another level.
But you do need guidance to marry law and recruitment, and if you do this, we can promise that this partnership will create much success. To that end, Alex Jarosz, Head of Fusion Law and Adam Bloch, Head of Fusion Recruitment, are available at any time to discuss the various approaches and legal points to help you ensure you hire well and safely. We’ll help you look forward to the day when that great candidate joins.
