Impact of Employment Law on Employment Relationships

Abstract

Employment relationships are drawn on a contractual basis depicting a relationship between the employer and an employee. It is an agreement between an employer and employee where an employee agrees to offer his/her services in return for either a salary or a wage. Employment takes different forms that be verbal, written as well as partly written or partly oral. The contract is drawn between employee and employers creates a working relationship where the employees serve the business. The terms of the relationship should be outlined in the written document as per the requirement of Section 1 of the Employment Rights Acts (ERA) 1996 Employees are assets of an organization hence they are instrumental to the continuity of business. The relationships between employers and the workforce are however not rigid; they are prone to changes, which may be induced by varied reasons that may alter the relationship. Some of these factors include acquisition and mergers, partnership, outsourcing and employee exchange programs for companies operating several businesses in different regions among others. As the changes occur, the employee is entitled to their rights as prescribed in their original agreements with their former employers. Restructuring of a business can emanate considerable challenges if a smooth transition is not undertaken. The employer and employee must restructure their initial agreement as per the changes and document them in writing. During the reorganization, an employee or employer may wish to amend the terms of the previous contract, an activity that must align with the appropriate legislation. Therefore, this review looked at how the employment law affects the relationships between an employer and employee with an intend enhancing human resource function and employment relations.