Employing someone new

Who should watch this?

Watch this if you are hiring a new member of staff and want to know how to do this.

The content of this video is accurate as at July 2017 (but see 'Update' below).

What does the video cover?

The video will cover questions such as:

• How can I decide what kind of relationship to set up (ie, employment, volunteer, worker or self-employed)?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of taking on someone as an employee?
• How can I carry out a fair recruitment process?
• What legal rights do job applicants have that I should know about?
• What do I need to include in a job offer?
• Do I need to check someone has the legal right to work in the UK?
• How can I do a background check and find out about previous convictions?
• What are the key terms to include in a contract of employment?
• What will terms such as pay, hours, holidays, confidentiality, data protection, termination, and non-competing deal with?

Update

Since this video was filmed:

• the maximum civil penalty for an employer who negligently hires an individual who does not have the right to work in the UK has risen from £10,000 to £20,000 per individual.  In addition, the criminal offence of 'knowingly' employing an illegal immigrant has been expanded to include any hiring where the employer has "reasonable cause to believe" the employee did not have the right to work in the UK;

• the UKBA has been replaced by 'UK Visas and Immigration'';

• the GDPR will be coming into force in May 2018 which will enforce stricter rules on data protection;

• there have been significant changes to apprenticeships and in particular the apprenticeship levy;

• there is now a higher National Living Wage for workers aged 25 and over;

• individuals on zero hour contracts could be workers or employees; and

• there is a prohibition on the use of exclusivity clauses in zero hour contracts preventing individuals from working for other organisations.

Running time: 28mins

• Title page (0.23)
• Introduction (1.16)
• Type of engagement (8.20)
• Fair recruitment (4.27)
• Right to work (1.46)
• Background checks (2.55)
• Contracts of employment (8.23)
• Summary (1.07) 

Special thanks to:

Els Janssens and Nabarro (now CMS).

Disclaimer

LawWorks, the presenters, and the organisations involved in producing these resources cannot accept any responsibility or liability for the use of the materials and they are not a substitute for taking appropriate legal advice.

Date last reviewed

July 2017